Palestinian PM: Trump's Mideast Plan 'Will be Buried'
Posted: Sun Feb 16, 2020 10:40 am
FILE - Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh gestures as he speaks during a workshop on cooperation between Palestinians and East Asian countries, in Jericho in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, July 3, 2019.
MUNICH - The Palestinian prime minister lashed out Sunday at U.S. President Donald Trump's proposal to end the Mideast conflict, saying it would be "buried very soon."
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Mohammad Shtayyeh said the U.S. plan was "no more than a memo of understanding between [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and Trump."
Shtayyeh criticized the fact that the proposal would leave a future Palestinian state fragmented and with "no sovereignty," allowing Israel to annex large parts of the West Bank. He urged other countries to reject the Trump proposal while maintaining that Palestinians "are open to serious negotiations."
Shtayyeh suggested the Palestinians would seek to increase pressure on Israel through international organizations, citing the recent release by the U.N. human rights office of a list of more than 100 companies allegedly complicit in violating Palestinian human rights by operating in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Referring to the upcoming Israeli election, Shtayyeh said the difference between Israeli opposition leader Benny Gantz and Netanyahu was "not more than the difference between Coca-Cola and Pepsi Cola"