Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemns Donald Trump's Middle East peace efforts.
ADVERTISEMENTPalestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has described Donald Trump's Middle East peace efforts as the "slap of the century".
Speaking at the opening of a PLO conference in Ramallah on Sunday, Abbas once again disqualified the US as potential peace mediator with Israel after Trump's recent recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital and his threat to cut aid to the Palestinian Authority. Addressing delegates Abbas declared: "He (Trump) said in a tweet: We won't give money to the Palestinians because they reject negotiations. Shame on you (Trump) When did we reject the negotiations?"
Abbas added, "The political negotiations should be under international mediation and not solely (American mediation). Should I make it clear? We do not accept America as a mediator between us and Israel."
Abbas has said he will only accept a broad, internationally-backed panel to broker any peace talks, though that could still include the US.
During the speech the Palestinian leader also described America's ambassadors to the UN and Israel — Nikki Haley and David Friedman — a disgrace. He also accused Israel of putting an end to the Oslo Accords, which began the peace process in 1995.