RNA - According to Channel 10 news on Saturday, Abbas made the remarks during a meeting with Israel's Meretz political party leader Zehava Galon, as he was shocked by the decision, telling Galon that US President Donald Trump had “promised a good deal to [resolve] the conflict, and then came this unfortunate surprise, which we cannot accept.”
"We are prepared for negotiations, and we never intended to leave the talks, but regrettably no one is offering us talks, especially not the Americans, who now wish to punish us,” he said.
Abbas added that Washington can no longer play the role of mediator in peace talks after its al-Quds move.
"The Oslo Accords are dead, and even though Israel has not lived up to its obligations, we have so far not halted security cooperation. We are waiting to see if there can be negotiations under fair mediators,” Abbas stressed.
The Oslo Accords were signed between the Israeli regime and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) during the early-mid 1990s to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and to guarantee the Palestinians’ right of self determination. The Palestinian Authority (PA), which has limited governance over the occupied West Bank, was established following the Oslo Accords.
US President Donald Trump announced early December 2017 that Washington would be recognizing Jerusalem al-Quds as Israel’s capital, stressing that the United States would relocate the embassy in the occupied lands from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem al-Quds.
The move was hailed by Israel but condemned by the rest of the international community as one which undermines the peace talks.
Washington’s al-Quds move has raised a chorus of outcry across the international community. The Muslim world, the UN, world leaders from Europe to the Middle East to Australia, and even US allies in the West have criticized the bid, saying it would plunge the already tumultuous region into new upheaval.
Heavy clashes also broke out between Israeli troops and Palestinian protesters after Washington's decision in Jerusalem al-Qud's Old City, Hebron (al-Khalil), Bethlehem and Nablus in the West Bank as well as the besieged Gaza Strip.
According to reports, 22 Palestinians were also killed in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank and more than 800 Palestinians were detained by the Israeli forces since Washington’s move to recognize Jerusalem al-Quds as the capital of Israel.
Also, thousands of Palestinians have been wounded by Israeli army's fire during demonstrations against the US President decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), in a statement issued following an extraordinary summit in Turkey's Istanbul, declared East Jerusalem the capital of Palestine "under occupation" and urged the US to withdraw from the peace process and back down from its Jerusalem decision.
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) overwhelmingly passed a non-binding resolution condemning Trump’s decision and called on states not to move their diplomatic missions to the sacred city. The UNGA vote followed the US veto of a UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution.
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