Palestinian leaders call for suspension of the recognition of Israel

Members of the Palestine Central Council, a high-ranking body within the Palestine Liberation Organization, voted to suspend its recognition of Israel until Tel Aviv recognises a Palestinian state.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (2nd R) makes a speech as he attends the 28th session of the Palestinian Central Council, based on the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) which is being held under the title of "Jerusalem, the eternal capital of the State of Palestine" in Ramallah, West Bank on January 14, 2018.
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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (2nd R) makes a speech as he attends the 28th session of the Palestinian Central Council, based on the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) which is being held under the title of "Jerusalem, the eternal capital of the State of Palestine" in Ramallah, West Bank on January 14, 2018.

Palestinian leaders on Monday called on the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to suspend recognition of Israel following recent developments over the status of Jerusalem. 

Members of the Palestine Central Council, a high-ranking body within the PLO – an umbrella group that includes most major Palestinian political factions – voted to call for the suspension at a major meeting in Ramallah.

The two-day meeting was opened on Sunday under the title "Jerusalem, the eternal capital of the State of Palestine" to discuss means of countering a recent US decision to officially recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. 

The council asked the executive committee to reconsider the recognition of the state of Israel until it recognises the state of Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital.

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Read by the president of the Central Council, Salim al Zanoun, the resolution said the transitional period stipulated in the agreements signed in Oslo in 1993 was no longer valid. 

The Council also resolved “to condemn and reject the decision of US President Donald Trump in recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and transferring his country’s embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem".

"The Council considered that the US administration, by announcing this decision, has lost its eligibility to function as a mediator and sponsor of the peace process and will not be a partner in this process unless the decision is reversed."

The Central Council also called on "the international community to assume its responsibilities on the basis of relevant UN resolutions to end the occupation and enable the State of Palestine to achieve its independence and to exercise its full sovereignty over its territory, including its capital, East Jerusalem, on the borders of 4 June 1967."

Jerusalem remains at the heart of the Middle East conflict, with Palestinians hoping that East Jerusalem – occupied by Israel – might eventually serve as the capital of an independent Palestinian state. 

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