President Mahmoud Abbas said today that he is going to stop security coordination with Israel, stressing that he will not go back on his rejection of the so-called deal of the century plan until the United States and Israel retract it.
Speaking at the opening of the Palestinian cabinet meeting in Ramallah, President Abbas said that “either we take our full rights according to the international legitimacy resolutions, or Israel must assume its full responsibilities (in the occupied territories) as an occupying power.”
The President reiterated his refusal to have the US as the sole mediator in the peace process saying, “Since Oslo in 1993 until now, the US has done nothing positive.”
He added: “We will not back down unless they retract and accept negotiations on the basis of international legitimacy.”
He said: “We will continue our steps on all levels to confront the ‘deal of the century’. We will present our vision to the Security Council and we will renew our rejection of this deal because it detracts from Palestinian rights and denies all agreements and resolutions of international legitimacy.”
The President said he tells anyone who believes that the “deal of the century” constitutes an opportunity that there is nothing positive in it and that no one can accept this plan for a population of 13 million. “There is no real opportunity in it. What opportunity is this that gives us only 11% from our land!”
He praised the position of the Arabs from the “deal of the century” saying: “The Arabs stood with us as one man. They took a unanimous decision on the draft resolution that we submitted. It was not amended and was adopted as is.”
