Global Geo-political Series: Sweeteners may arrive for Palestine’s Abbas in January

After President Trump announced his decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, Mahmoud Abbas of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) denounced Trump’s decision and said that the decision suggests that the United States has withdrawn itself from the peace process and positioned itself as an actor in the conflict and not as a mediator. He added that Palestine has no intention of withdrawing from the peace process and will seek a new mediator to work with toward a two-state solution. Abbas also canceled a meeting with Vice President Mike Pence during the latter’s foreign trip in the Middle East. Instead, he visited Cairo and is in Istanbul today to attend the Islamic summit called by the Turkish President Recep Tayipp Erdogan with an aim to rally the Muslim leaders for the Jerusalem cause. Speaking at the Islamic summit, Abbas said that the U.S. decision is ‘greatest crime’. However, a lack of participation from key Muslim countries like Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt has made it clear that not everyone is on board with full-fledged war like protest against the decision.

Insiders with the knowledge of the matter suggest that the staunch opposition might dilute when the sweeteners arrive for Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. A new peace proposal might come as early as January next year, which is likely to include statehood for Palestine but without Jerusalem. Israel is likely to offer concessions on borders.  The details of the proposal are yet not known.