Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on convening an international peace conference by mid-2018 to pave the way for Palestinian statehood and to oppose US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, during a United Nations Security council meeting on Tuesday.
Abbas called Trump’s Jerusalem decision an “unlawful decision, which was rejected by the international community, to remove the issue of Jerusalem off the table.” The Palestinian president accused the United States of having an unclear position on the peace process, and criticised the US for reducing contributions to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
“We repeatedly reaffirmed our position in accordance with international law, the relevant U.N. resolutions and the two-state solution on the basis of the 1967 borders. Yet this administration has not clarified its position,” Abbas said.