Speaking at Palestine Liberation Organization’s (PLO) central committee meeting on Sunday, PLO chief Mahmoud Abbas called the United States’ proposed deal, which President Trump described the ‘deal of the century’ as a ‘slap of the century’, remarking on president Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. After recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, Trump said that the fresh negotiations would be easy since he removed the most difficult part and the sticking point that is the claim over Jerusalem, off the table. Abbas added, “We told Trump we will never accept his plan. His ‘deal of the century’ is the slap in the face of the century, and we will not accept it”.
However, President Abbas didn’t rule out the U.S. participation when the peace talks are revived, however, he said he would not accept the United States as the sole mediator. Instead, he called for a committee formed of other international communities as well, “Any future negotiations will take place only within the context of the international community, by an international committee created in the framework of an international conference”. Mr. Abbas also accused Israel of breaking the Oslo accord and signaled that PLO might quit the agreement. OSLO accord was a 1993 agreement where both Israel and PLO were mutually recognized.
President Trump has threatened to cut aid to PLO if the latter refused to return to the negotiating table. Unconfirmed reports suggest that the United States is set to channel $60 million aid to PLO instead of planned $125 million.
