“I have a message for Abu Mazen – There is no alternative for the U.S. led brokership to the peace process.”
So said Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Sunday evening during a speech he made at the Ambassador’s Conference that took place in the Foreign Ministry shortly before the arrival of U.S. Vice President Mike Pence.
Netanyahu also sent a message to European nations.
“I suggest that they heed with far more seriousness the words of the President of the United States Donald Trump. If they want the nuclear accords to succeed, they need to improve upon them.”
In the past year, I have been on six continents,” said Netanyahu. “There are considerable and dramatic changes taking place in the Middle East – and this very fact has counteracted the notion that the only way to be accepted in the international community is by solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I hope that this conflict will be solved with the help of President Trump. There is a major shift in Israel’s capabilities and in our place among the nations. This is dramatically changing the possibilities for Israel in the diplomatic sphere as well.”
The statement made by Netanyahu came on the backdrop of Abu Mazen [PA President Mahmoud Abbas] stating that the United States has made itself an irrelevant broker with regards to the stalled negotiations between the Palestinians and Israel due to Trump’s pronouncement of the United States’ recognition that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital.
“We will not accept the deals that the U.S. offers us. Nor will we accept their mediation after this travesty that they committed against Jerusalem. We will not accept becoming an authority without power,” said Abu Mazen in a meeting of the PLO’s central committee.
During his speech Netanyahu also welcomed Pence’s imminent arrival. “Tonight we welcome with honor the Vice President of the United States, a great friend of Israel’s, Mike Pence. He lands here and we will welcome him with warmth and with pride. I will be speaking to him about two topics, peace and security. With regards to peace, whomever doesn’t want to discuss peace options with the United States, doesn’t want peace.
MK Ayman Odeh (Arab Joint List) has sent notice that the Arab MKs in the opposition will boycott Pence’s speech to the Knesset. “I was asked if there is a change in our position regarding the speech of the Vice President. We are talking about a very dangerous man who has a messianic vision that includes the complete destruction of this entire area. He is coming on behalf of an even more dangerous man who is a political pyromaniac, a racist and one who only cares about business mergers. It is absolutely prohibited that this man be a mediator in our region. Therefore the entire Arab Joint List will be boycotting the speech in the plenum.”
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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