Thread| President Abbas to Arab League starts by saluting Arab peoples who have expressed their rejection of the Trump plan and support for Palestine (i.e. to Arab regimes: we know where your peoples' hearts are)
2/ Abbas to Arab League recalls Balfour Declaration, made part of British mandate of Palestine. The Declaration only referred to 'civil and religious rights to non-Jewish communities' in Palestine, i.e. Palestinians (who were 92+% of population) - draws parallel to the Trump plan
3/ Netanyahu objected to Oslo Accords from the beginning. After Rabin was assassinated, all negotiations ended because Netanyahu does not believe in peace. When Olmert came to power, we achieved progress - we agreed on 70% of issues then Olmert was imprisoned and everything ended
4/ Abbas to Arab League: If the US knew about Oslo negotiations, they would have ruined it. We achieved progress with the Israelis because we talked alone. Since the US took over sponsoring negotiations, we have achieved no progress.
5/ Abbas to Arab League: Obama administration & UK helped draft UNSC resolution 2334 but Trump refused to deal with it. Still, our initial meetings with Trump were encouraging. Trump told us in meetings he supports 2 states, 67 borders, E. Jerusalem for Palestine, land swaps etc
6/ Abbas: I told Trump that I am a man of peace. I don't want a militarized state. Rather than buy I tank, I'd rather we build a school. Trump sounded supportive then w/t prior warning he closed Pal DC office, stopped aid to PA & UNRWA & recognized Israeli annexation of Jerusalem
7/ Naturally, we stopped dialogue with Trump administration but maintained contacts with the CIA and Congress. Recently, many members of Congress have expressed their objection to US policies on settlements. This is positive and we look forward to more engagement
8/ After Trump administration announced they would reveal the plan, they said they will send me a copy! I refused to receive a copy. I refused to receive Trump's calls and letter. Because when he called before Jerusalem announcement, he lied and said he consulted with me!
9/ The plan is now out. It includes Israeli annexation of Jerusalem, division of Aqsa mosque compound (time & space), and Palestinian capital east of Jerusalem - Abu Dis. The plan rejects Palestine refugee rights but asks for compensation of Jewish refugees from Arab states
10/ In Oslo accords, the premise was that 92% of OPT was ours and we would negotiate on 8% in final status. This was already a compromise. The OPT is 22% of historic Palestine. Now, the plan wants to annex 30+% of the OPT!
11/ The plan presents disconnected & isolated areas, no control over land, borders or airspace! They also want to give us the 'triangle' (where 250,000 Palestinian Israelis live) - we all know why [demographics]!
12/ I really think Trump has no idea what this plan includes. Friedman, his son in law Kushner, and Greenblatt are the ones who oversaw the drafting and were the go between with Netanyahu.
13/ In any case, it's enough for the plan to include annexation of Jerusalem for us to reject it. I will not go down as someone who sold out Palestine.
14/ The plan holds implementation of Palestinian side of plan for 4 years and conditions implementation on Palestinians proving their 'good will'! But Israel can go ahead with annexation and ethnic cleansing
15/ They want Palestine to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, disarm Gaza, agree to division of Aqsa & Israeli annexation of Palestinian land, agree to no sovereignty, no borders with any state except Israel and they call it a state
16/ After Palestine became an Observer at the UN, we joined UN organizations, acceded to int'l conventions, including Rome Statute & @IntlCrimCourt. Trump plan expects Palestine not to join any int'l orgs & stop pursuing justice in international tribunals.
@IntlCrimCourt 17/ Countries are upset. They reject the Trump plan. 138 members of Congress reject this sham. States know we are serious in seeking peace, combating terrorism. They understand why we reject this sham of the century
@IntlCrimCourt 18/ We are going from here to the OIC, the African Union, then to the UNSC. In Feb 2018, I proposed to the UNSC an int'l conference & int'l sponsorship of negotiations. We know States can't oppose the US. We don't ask for that. We want the world to support Palestinian rights
@IntlCrimCourt 19/ We sent 2 letters. 1 to Netanyahu, the other to Trump through CIA. It says: Israel has overturned the Oslo Accords & UN resolutions which created the State of Israel. As such, Palestine informs you that there will be no relation with you, including security coordination.
@IntlCrimCourt 20/ Letter also said: Israel must bear its responsibility as an occupying power. We will pursue our right to end occupation through peaceful means and in line with international law.
@IntlCrimCourt 21/ We reject the Trump plan. We still believe in peace but only through an international mechanism to achieve peace (Quartet or Quartet +). The Trump plan has no place on the negotiation table. Only UN resolutions & international law are acceptable foundations for talks
