Olmert event on Abbas’ agenda for NY trip to condemn Israel
The two will hold a joint event when Abbas travels to New York to urge the UN Security Council to condemn Israel.
By LAHAV HARKOVFormer Prime Minister Ehud Olmert(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
Former prime minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will hold a joint press conference against the Trump peace plan while the latter is in New York next week to push for a UN Security Council condemnation of Israel.The two have a meeting scheduled in Manhattan in which they will comment on the US plan for Israel and the Palestinians, and take questions from the press.A source close to Olmert said, “He does not plan to fight with [US President Donald Trump], but he does want to talk about the real way to make peace.”Abbas will address the Security Council on Tuesday. The PA is working to promote a Security Council resolution coming out against the Trump plan and condemning Israel’s plan to annex settlements. The US has said it will veto the resolution, but it is likely to pass in the General Assembly.Olmert made his views on the plan clear in his column in The Jerusalem Post last weekend, writing that it is “a propaganda windfall” and “a beautiful gift, all wrapped up and tied with a bow” for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political needs.“All the work done by [Trump’s] administration has not been a serious, genuine effort to create dialogue between the Palestinians and Israel,” Olmert said.The former prime minister said the plan ensures Israel and the Palestinians will not actually negotiate.“There’s no doubt that Trump’s plan is nothing short of revolutionary – revolutionary in a negative, dangerous way,” he warned.The US plan, titled “Peace to Prosperity,” would have Israel retain 30% of the West Bank and the Palestinians 70% for an eventual state that would also include the Gaza Strip, connected by a tunnel. Support for the state would be conditional on demilitarization, including dismantling Hamas and Islamic Jihad, as well as stopping incitement against Israel, among other conditions.The Likud’s spokesman called on Blue and White leader Benny Gantz “to clarify to his friend and close adviser Ehud Olmert that this is not the time to meet with [Abbas] to act against the ‘Deal of the Century.’“At this time, we need to stand with President Trump and Israel’s national interests, not with someone who incites and encourages terrorism against our soldiers,” Netanyahu’s party spokesman said.
