The Arab League is currently holding an emergency meeting in Egypt’s capital, Cairo, to discuss US President Donald Trump’s plan for the Middle East.
The meeting, which is holding today, was called by Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, who asked Arab nations to reject the proposal, which Trump had dubbed the “deal of the century”.
The plan presented on Tuesday was negotiated with Israel and had no input from Palestinians, who had cut off all ties with the Trump administration. It envisions the Israeli annexation of large swathes of the occupied West Bank, including illegal settlements and the Jordan Valley, giving Israel a permanent eastern border along the Jordan River.
“They told me Trump wants to send me the deal of the century to read, I said I would not,” Abbas said.
“Trumped asked that I speak to him over the phone, so I said no, and that he wants to send me a letter, so I refused to receive it,” he added.
Abbas, who strongly rejected the plan, said the Palestinians remained committed to ending the Israeli occupation and establishing a state with its capital in East Jerusalem.
The Arab League’s head, Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, said on Wednesday that an initial study of the plan’s political framework showed that it “ignored legitimate Palestinian rights in the territories”.
He said, “Palestinian response would be key in shaping a collective Arab position on the plan, which he noted was a non-binding US vision.”
Majdi al-Khaldi, a diplomatic adviser to Abbas, said the meeting of the Arab League’s foreign ministers aims at issuing a “clear declaration” rejecting the deal.
