Arab League: Trump's Middle East plan violates legitimate rights of Palestinians

Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said on Wednesday that US President Donald Trump's plan for the Middle East had been violating the legitimate rights of Palestinians.
Flanked by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, U.S. President Donald Trump, in a news conference at the White House on Tuesday, unveiled the plan to end one of the longest running disputes in the Middle East. He proposed an independent Palestinian state but with the recognition of Israeli sovereignty over West Bank and keeping Jerusalem as its "undivided capital".

In a statement, the regional organization in the Arab world said that peace could not be achieved unilaterally but depended on the will of the Palestinians as well.

Convening an urgent meeting to discuss the plan on Saturday, it said that a serious effort to resolve the dispute could be considered; however, peace could not be achieved by ignoring the reality of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories since 1967.

The main criterion in judging any plan is the extent of its compatibility with international law and the principles of fairness and justice, it added.

The Pan-Arab body said that the Palestinian position was key to come up with a united Arab stance on the Middle East peace plan.
Gheit said that "any serious plan to achieve peace must meet the expectations of both parties."

"A just and sustainable peace cannot be achieved while ignoring the reality of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories since 1967," he said.

The foreign ministers of Arab League member states will hold an extraordinary meeting on Saturday to discuss Trump's plan.

The comments come after Trump unveiled his plan for the Middle East, which would give Israel control over Jewish settlements in the West Bank and the strategic Jordan Valley, while also calling for the creation of a Palestinian state.

The Palestinians rejected the proposal, which significantly differs from the 1967 borders that have previously been the basis for peace plans.
Palestine's Hamas has decried the terms of the agreement saying: "This deal isn't worth the paper it's written on and Jerusalem will remain for Palestinians." Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has also dismissed the plan, terming it a "conspiracy".

Qatar said it welcomes all efforts for "a longstanding peace in the occupied Palestinian territories," according to Qatar's official news agency.

Saudi Arabia's King Salman reiterated in a phone call with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas his country's support for Palestinian rights, the SPA news agency reported.