The declaration was made in a solemn tone. Waving a large map of Palestine, as wanted by the United States, the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, reaffirmed, Tuesday February 11 before the UN Security Council, to reject the Israeli peace plan -american presented by Donald Trump. A plan compared to a "Swiss cheese", which calls into question "the legitimate rights of the Palestinians", according to Mahmoud Abbas.
Faced with him, the United States and Israel, organized as a united front, proved intractable. While Donald Trump is in the White House, and Benjamin Netanyahu is running for re-election for the third time in a year, the Palestinians, whose situation is more precarious than ever, see no outcome that would be favorable to them.
Financial aid correlated to the American peace plan
The day before his address at the United Nations, Mahmoud Abbas had renounced his request to vote in the Security Council on a resolution rejecting the US peace plan on the one hand, and condemning him on the other hand , as a violation of international law.
To be adopted, such a resolution would probably not have obtained the necessary nine votes (out of fifteen), and the United States would have vetoed in all cases.
Another blockage on the part of American power, another blow struck at the Palestinians and at Mahmoud Abbas: the State Department published, Monday, the presentation of its 2021 budget. And for the first time since 1993, this one does not foresee no financial assistance for the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
The news is not surprising, however. Already in 2018, the Trump administration had cut $ 200 million in economic and humanitarian aid to the Palestinians, even though it kept funding for security. However, this funding, which amounted to $ 75 million this year, could also come to an end. In fact, in the new budget request, this aid now seems conditional on the approval, by Congress, of the $ 200 million diplomatic progress fund supposed to cover the Israeli-American peace plan.
"So far, the United States of Donald Trump has taken such an antagonistic position against the Palestinians that it leaves no room for good expectations from this administration," said Vice President Elias Zananiri of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) committee for interaction with Israeli society, contacted by France 24.
🔴 #DIRECT - 🇵🇸 🇺🇳 The President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud #Abbas speaks at the #UN.
He came to express his rejection of Donald's #Trump peace plan for the Middle East https://t.co/NRsRkPQ5st
Aged and sick, Abbas calls for resistance
The "realistic two-state" solution, as presented at the end of January by Donald Trump in the presence of his "great friend", Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, sparked the wrath of Mahmoud Abbas.
Quoted in the Jerusalem Post daily, the president of the Palestinian Authority said: "They called me from Washington, and I did not pick up."
"I said no and I will continue to say no," he continued. Referring to the consequences, notably financial, of this refusal, Mahmoud Abbas called for resistance.
But does the Palestinian President really have the power to resist against the American and Israeli powers? In any case, he can count on the support of the Palestinians and the Arab world, and "most of the countries which do not approve of Trump's vision", assures Elias Zananiri.
The whole question is to know what will happen in the near future, when Mahmoud Abbas will step down. The leader is 84 years old, and his health remains fragile. However, no plan has been put in place to ensure his replacement or call an election.
Rapprochement with Hamas
Palestinians have not had an election since the one that, in 2005, brought Mahmoud Abbas to power, with almost 64% of the vote, after the death of Yasser Arafat.
The last legislative elections in 2006 led to a split between Fatah, the Palestinian liberation movement, founded by Yasser Arafat, and its main rival, the Islamist movement Hamas.
Since then, the two groups have been in conflict, with Fatah ruling the Palestinian Authority from Ramallah in the West Bank, and Hamas being mainly active in Gaza.
The American peace plan, perceived by the Palestinians as largely favoring Israel, will at least have had the merit of bringing them together in rejection.
The day the plan was presented, Palestinian leaders met with Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah. On this occasion, the head of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, called for support for the rejection made by the president of the Palestinian Authority and expressed the hope that the different groups would leave their differences aside. This plan, while allowing a demilitarized state, opens the door, they say, to the annexation of large areas of the West Bank by Israel.
"President Abbas replied that he was ready to send a delegation to hold talks with Hamas in order to put an end to the disagreements that have existed since the Hamas military force took control of the Gaza Strip in June 2007," said Elias Zananiri. He added that two Fatah officials were in Gaza to discuss with various factions with a view to fixing the date for the national dialogue on which Mahmoud Abbas and Ismail Haniyeh agreed.
"They are fighting among themselves"
If the vice-president of the PLO committee for interaction with Israeli society evokes the hope that the Trump plan will lead Hamas to accept the organization of elections, several officials within Fatah could, on the other hand, fighting over the succession of Mahmoud Abbas.
Among them, Mahmoud Aloul, vice-president of Fatah, Tawfik Tirawi, former chief of intelligence of the West Bank, Majed Faraj, boss of Palestinian intelligence and Jibril Rajoub, current president of the Palestinian Football Federation.
"But they are fighting among themselves, and Abbas is doing nothing to stop this," said Danny Rubinstein, a former journalist with the Israeli daily Haaretz, contacted by France 24, who said at the same time that "the more fragile Abbas becomes, the more he distrusts those around him and his potential rivals. "
According to Ghassan Khattib, a politician from the Palestinian People's Party, "Abu Mazen [nickname of Mahmoud Abbas] will be the last Palestinian president". Indeed, says Dany Rubinstein, "after that there will be chaos, factional battles for power, but there will be no president."
Article by Tamar Shiloh Vidon, adapted from English by Pauline Rouquette.
The France 24 week summary invites you to come back to the news that marked the week
I subscribeDownload the app
google-play-badge_FR