PLO official: Washington is not an honest peace broker

A senior member of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), Ahmad Majdalani, said that the US Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt will arrive in the region by the end of August and will hold separate meetings with Palestinian and Israeli officials, Quds Press reported.

Majdalani told Quds Press yesterday that the US administration’s position and role prove that it has not been an honest broker in the peace process.

“The United States has always conveyed the Israeli position,” he said, adding that this has called into question America’s role in the peace process.

On Washington’s position he mentioned that the new US administration has not yet crystallised their vision of the political process in the region, in spite of previous agreements to form a Palestinian-American team to review and prepare a plan to reach a comprehensive deal to resolve the Palestinian issue and end the occupation.

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He also pointed out that during previous meetings with the Americans Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had specific demands in light of Washington’s failure to declare “traditional positions” taken by all previous American administrations on issues such as the two-state solution and the settlements.

Majdalani’s statements, which indicate that Palestinians are not expecting much support from the United States, came in light of a report by the Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom  which quoted senior sources in the Palestinian Authority saying that a delegation of US officials, headed by Jason Greenblatt, is set to arrive in the region to meet representatives of the two sides to examine the possibility of resuming Palestinian-Israeli talks.