Palestine leader Abbas calls for 'genuine peace' talks at UN, slams Arab deals with Israel

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, during his address at the UN General Assembly on Friday, September 25, called for an international peace conference next year to engage in a “genuine peace process” while critising the recent Arab peace accords with Israel. 

Abbas has been a vocal critic of the UAE and Bahrain's peace deals with Israel. The historic deals normalised the Aran nation's relations with Israel after years of discord.

Read: Bahrain Stresses Two-state Solution During Pompeo’s Visit To End Israel-Palestine Conflict

Abbas a vocal critic of UAE, Bahrain Israel peace deal

During his address, the Palestinian President acknowledged the growing wariness of the international community regarding the decades-long conflict. In his video address, Abbas stated, “I wondered while preparing this statement what more could I tell you, after all, that I have said in previous statements”.

Abbas and other Palestinian leaders are reported to have rejected Trump’s proposal for the Middle East as well as the recent Arab peace agreements. While Palestinian leaders have claimed that the proposed plan overwhelmingly favours Israel, on the other hand, Abbas has called UAE and Bahrain's peace agreement with Israel a ‘betrayal of the longstanding Arab consensus that recognition of Israel should only come in exchange for territorial concessions’.

Read: Abraham Accords: Israel & UAE Ink Historic Deal To Establish Full Diplomatic Relations

The Abraham Accords

On September 15, representatives from Israel, the UAE and Bahrain met in Washinton to sign a peace agreement which would normalise relations between Israel and the Arab countries. The United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Bahrain became the third and fourth Arab nations to establish diplomatic ties with Israel after Egypt and Jordan.

US President Donald Trump who brokered the peace agreements has urger other Arab nations to follow UAE’s lead and sign peace agreements with Israel. He added, “Now that the ice has been broken, I expect more Arab and Muslim countries will follow the United Arab Emirates' lead. And I want to just thank them -- it's not surprising, knowing Mohammed so well. It's not surprising. They are in that lead position. And normalise relations with Israel”.

(With AP inputs, Image: AP)

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