African Union (AU) leaders rejected American president Donald Trump’s proposed plan to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on Sunday.
They said it was “yet another violation of the AU and United Nations’ multiple resolutions.”
The new AU president, South African president Cyril Ramaphosa, compared the American plan to the Apartheid regime. “It reminded me of our terrible history here in South Africa,” Ramaphosa said. He took over the presidency of the AU from Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi on Sunday.
“The Palestinian cause will always be in the hearts and spirit of the African people,” al-Sissi said during the opening of the AU summit in Addis Abeba.
President Trump’s plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was unveiled on the 28th of January. It created a strong reaction from the Palestinians, who accused Washington’s plan of being too favourable to Israel.
The plan gives Israel total sovereignty over Jerusalem, including occupied and annexed East Jerusalem, as well as a large part of the West Bank which has also been occupied by Israel since 1967. This includes the valley of Jordan, which would become the new Eastern border.
The plan also includes the creation of a demilitarised Palestine state in only part of the West Bank and the Gaza strip. It was described as “yet another violation of the AU and United Nations’ multiple resolutions” by the AU Commission’s president Moussa Faki. Faki severely criticised the plan, which he added was “drawn up with no international consultation.”
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who is regularly invited to AU summits, was not in Addis Abeda on Sunday but he plans to visit the UN to fight Trump’s plan in a few days.
Abbas was represented by his Prime Minister Mohammad Chtayyeh, who described the plan as “one-sided” and “illegitimate.”
The Brussels Times
