UNITED NATIONS, May 10 (NNN-Xinhua) — Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki said that Washington’s upcoming Middle East peace plan does not qualify as such, but rather “conditions for surrender.”
“We cannot afford not to engage with any peace efforts. But the U.S. administration’s efforts cannot be characterized, nor can qualify as peace efforts, unfortunately,” al-Maliki told an Arria-formula meeting of the Security Council.
“All indicates this far that this is not a peace plan, but rather conditions for surrender. And there’s no amount of money that can make it acceptable,” he said, referring to a peace plan that Washington has said it would unveil shortly.
“Some ask us: what if they surprise you? We tell them: (we) would have been more hopeful had they not been deaf to our appeals, blind to Israeli violations, and mute at best on the fundamentals of peace.”
He noted that the United States, prior to announcing its plan, recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and “pretended” it has no implication on peace. “It is not possible to have faith in such efforts. Every decision the U.S. administration has taken since has simply confirmed its disregard for Palestinian lives and for Palestinian rights and for the international consensus and for the law.”
Al-Maliki said only a two-state solution could lead to a just and lasting peace.
An Arria-formula meeting is an informal meeting of the Security Council that can involve outsiders as briefers and the participation of states that are not members of the Security Council.
Thursday’s meeting on Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory was chaired by Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, whose country holds the Security Council presidency for the month of May. — NNN-XINHUA
