Mahmoud Abbas to demand EU recognise Palestinian state: senior official

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will ask the European Union to recognise the state of Palestine in response to Trump's Jerusalem decision, says Palestinian FM, Riad al Malki.

Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas talks during the closing news conference following the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation's Extraordinary Summit in Istanbul, 13 December 2017.
AP

Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas talks during the closing news conference following the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation's Extraordinary Summit in Istanbul, 13 December 2017.

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas will ask the EU to officially recognise the state of Palestine when he meets foreign ministers from the bloc on Monday, a senior official told AFP on Sunday.

Palestinian foreign minister Riad al Malki said Abbas will tell the EU it should take the step "as a way to respond" to US President Donald Trump's decision to recognise Jerusalem as the Israeli capital.

Abbas will also "reiterate his commitment to the peace process" in the Middle East, Malki said in an interview with AFP in Brussels.

A week ago Abbas denounced Trump's efforts to resolve the long-running conflict as the "slap of the century" and caused alarm by saying Israel had sunk the so-called Oslo accords that underpin the stalled peace process.

"Since Trump's decision has altered the rules of the game, he (Abbas) expects the European foreign ministers to come forward and collectively recognise the state of Palestine as a way to respond back to Trump's decision," Malki said.

"If the Europeans want to be a player then they have to be fair in their treatment of both parties and this should start with the recognition of the state of Palestine."

Abbas will meet EU diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini and the bloc's 28 foreign ministers on Monday on the sidelines of their monthly meeting, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a similar visit last month.

Diplomats and officials in Brussels say recognition for Palestine is not on the cards on Monday – the EU leaves recognition in the hands of individual members – and the best Abbas can hope for is progress towards an "association agreement" with the bloc.

Malki said that while the Palestinian Authority was "very serious" about such an agreement, they also expected to be formally recognised as a state.

"One does not replace the other. Absolutely not," he said.

Despite Abbas's comments on the Oslo accord and his insistence that the United States can no longer serve as mediator, Malki said he was still committed to the peace process – effectively frozen since 2014.

"He wants to reiterate his commitment to the peace process. He's going to say I'm not going to withdraw from the peace process, I will stay committed," Malki said.

Abbas's talks in Brussels come as US Vice President Mike Pence visits Israel during a tour of the Middle East with Arab anger still smouldering over Washington's hugely contentious decision on Jerusalem.

Abbas and the Palestinian leadership are refusing to meet Pence because of the declaration, making his visit a rare one by a high-ranking US official not to include talks with the Palestinians.

Trump's disputed decision

Donald Trump recognised the disputed city of Jerusalem as Israel's capital on December 6, 2017, the historic decision that overturns decades of US policy and risks triggering a fresh spasm of violence in the Middle East.

"I have determined that it is time to officially recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel," Trump said in a speech from the White House.

Israel considers Jerusalem as its eternal and indivisible capital and also wants all embassies based there.

Global reaction

Donald Trump's Jerusalem decision triggered reactions from all around the world. 

More than 120 countries defied President Donald Trump on 21 December 2017 and voted in favour of a United Nations General Assembly resolution calling for the United States to drop its recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Trump had threatened to cut off financial aid to countries that voted in favour. A total of 128 countries backed the resolution, which is non-binding, nine voted against and 35 abstained. Twenty-one countries did not cast a vote.

A spokesman for Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called the vote “a victory for Palestine” but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the vote.

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