Trump plan seeks to end Palestine question: Abbas

Servet Gunerigok

WASHINGTON: U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan for the Middle East seeks to end the Palestine question, that nation’s president said Tuesday.

Mahmoud Abbas told the UN Security Council that the plan, known as the “Deal of the Century,” is strengthening Israel’s “apartheid regime.”

It will not bring peace and stability to region, according to the Palestine leader.

Abbas said he was ready to start negotiations “if we have a partner in Israel ready for peace”.

During his address, Abbas also presented a map of the proposed initiative, saying: “It is like Swiss cheese.”

The controversial plan was announced Jan. 28 by Trump during a news conference at the White House alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

It refers to Jerusalem as “Israel’s undivided capital” and recognizes Israeli sovereignty over large parts of the West Bank.

Palestinians say the plan denies them the long-held goal of establishing their own country, while many Israelis applaud Trump’s decision to recognize Israeli sovereignty over West Bank settlements and the Jordan Valley.

The proposal makes other concessions to Israel, including the creation of a Palestinian capital in Abu Dis, a suburb to the east of Jerusalem. The Palestinians have long sought the whole of East Jerusalem and to control territories that have been held by Israel since a war in 1967.