Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is planning to host a conference of world leaders and high-ranking diplomats on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly this week with the expressed intention of undermining U.S. President Donald Trump's regional peace plan, Channel 10 News reported Monday.
Relations between Washington and Ramallah have been particularly strained since U.S. President Donald Trump officially recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital last December and subsequently moved the U.S. Embassy there in May. The move outraged Palestinians, who envision east Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.
Abbas has since refused to engage with any of Trump's Middle East envoys, saying that the U.S. bias in favor of Israel proves it cannot act as an impartial mediator in regional peace talks.
The Trump administration has taken several other steps against the Palestinian Authority, including suspending the large U.S. contribution to the U.N. aid agency assisting Palestinian refugees and shuttering the Palestine Liberation Organization's mission in Washington.
The United Kingdom, France, Russia, China and Germany, as well as diplomats from 40 nations and international organizations, have been invited to the conference scheduled for Wednesday, the report said.
Titled "Salvaging the Two-State Solution, Defending the International Rules-Based System," the conference is set to take place at the Grand Hyatt hotel in New York.
In a document distributed to those invited, the Palestinians say the meeting will focus on "countering threats to the two-state solution posed by Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank," "formulating ways to safeguard U.N. agencies that deal with matters relating to the Palestinians," and "advancing steps that would jumpstart peace talks based on the two-state solution and U.N. resolutions."
In the document, obtained by Channel 10, the Palestinians claim that Trump's overall approach to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process is part of his administration's efforts to "undermine the post-World War II world order."
Israeli diplomats have reportedly been trying to undermine the meeting, and have been reaching out to the countries invited, urging them either to pull out or to send only lower-ranking officials.
Abbas is scheduled to address the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday, the same day as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
London-based Arabic daily Asharq Al-Awsat reported that the Palestinian leader is expected to urge the international community to save the two-state solution or take responsibility for its demise.
Israeli sources said Netanyahu's speech will touch on the Middle East peace process, but is mostly expected to focus on Iran, Channel 10 said.
