Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Thursday, that there can be no peace deals made if Palestinian rights are ignored. Abbas spoke at the UN General Assembly, referring to the negotiations between the U.S., Saudi Arabia and Israel for normalization of ties between the Gulf kingdom and Israel.
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Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman said in an interview on Fox that an agreement with Israel was close, but it must include Israeli action to ease the lives of Palestinians. The Saudi prince called the deal the most major event since the end of the Cold War.
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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the UN General Assembly
(Photo: Kena Betancur )
"Israel withdrew from the Oslo Accords its ministers are proud of their Apartheid policies," Abbas said. He then accused Israel of responsibility for the crime rate in the Israeli Arab cities that have claimed the lives of hundreds. "Some of the violence is seeping into our territory and is putting our people at risk," he said.
The Palestinian president turned to the delegates in the assembly and asked why Israel is being allowed to be above the law. "We want someone to protect us from the occupation," he said.
He called on the nations that have not yet recognized the Palestinian state to do so, and on the UN to implement at least one of the many resolutions passed over the years, to end Israel's occupation.
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Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman
(Photo: Bandar Algaloud / Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court / Handout via REUTERS)
In order to finalize a deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will have to agree to concessions to the Palestinians although his coalition partners Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir have refused any gestures to the Palestinian Authority. "There will be no Oslo II," Smotrich reportedly said, indicating that he would oppose a freeze on settlement construction or transfer of land to Palestinian control.