PLO Secretary General: No Negotiations before Annulling US Decision on Jerusalem

Rasa - Saeb Erekat, secretary general of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), said on Tuesday the Palestinians will not agree to resume negotiations with Israel before the United States annuls its decision recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

News ID: 435731

Date: 11 January 2018 - 08:11

RNA - He told the official Voice of Palestine radio that US talk about deals to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict or calls for negotiations or talks are unacceptable to the Palestinian leadership unless the decision to declare Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is rescinded, WAFA reported.

"The Palestinian leadership will not accept any offers for negotiations unless the American decision on Jerusalem is annulled," Erekat stressed.

He said US President Donald Trump, during his speech to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, removed the city from any negotiations.

He added that the current US administration wants to impose dictates on the Palestinian leadership by adopting the Israeli position in order to liquidate the Palestinian cause by demanding the dismantling of UNRWA, cutting aid, starving refugees and closing schools.

He stressed that the Palestinian leadership does not want to clash with the US administration, but Trump is the one who created the clash, adding that "our peace will not be at any price."

Erekat said upcoming PLO Central Council meeting planned for Sunday in Ramallah would discuss defining the relationship with Israel in all its aspects and how to confront and annul the US decision on Jerusalem.

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 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.

847/940