Diplomacy

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Envoy Calls on Palestinian Authority to be “Credible Leaders” and Work with U.S. on Peace

by TheTower.org Staff |

United States envoy Jason Greenblatt has slammed the Palestinian leadership’s ongoing boycott of U.S.-led peace efforts as a “huge disservice” to the Palestinian people, after a senior Palestinian official accused the Trump administration of bias towards Israel, JNS reported Monday.

Palestinian legislator and senior member of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Hanan Ashrawi, had charged earlier that the U.S. has “zero credibility” and thus cannot be trusted as a genuine broker in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

“Peace is worth pursuing & we are committed to trying. You & other leaders can also work hard & see if it can be done,” Greenblatt tweeted at the official on Sunday, adding, “Or you can all continue to prevent the many significant benefits of peace by refusing to engage. The ball is in your court. Time to be credible leaders.”

The envoy said while the Palestinian leadership may disagree with the policy of the Trump administration, “to say we have zero credibility is simply not factual,” citing the White House’s promise to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and relocating the embassy there.

Greenblatt continued: “Another commitment @POTUS made was to work to see if we can achieve Israeli/Palestinian peace. We are doing that, but no one—no country, group of countries, or international body—can promise to achieve it. You know that; everyone knows that—even if they won’t say it out loud.”

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said in May 2018 that “I will not end my life as a traitor. [The U.S.] can announce the deal whenever and wherever they want, but nothing will happen against our will.” The Palestinian leader has rejected the U.S.-led effort from the start without ever having seen a detailed draft of the plan.

During the terms of Trump’s predecessor, President Barack Obama, Abbas derailed the administration’s two biggest pushes for Israeli-Palestinian peace. And in 2015, Abbas admitted that he rejected a peace offer from then-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in 2008.

Earlier this month, The White House confirmed that the yet-to-be-revealed peace plan was all but complete but would not be unveiled for a few months, partly because of the upcoming Knesset election on April 9.

[Photo: INSS Israel / YouTube ]

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