US did not propose peace plan, it is blackmailing us, claims PLO’s Erekat

The Secretary General of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation Executive Committee has claimed that Washington has not proposed a peace plan and is actually “blackmailing” the Palestinians, Safa news agency reported on Friday.

“We have continuous meetings with the US administration, but have not received anything official to date,” explained Saeb Erekat in a televised speech broadcast from Washington. “All that is being said by the media are not leaks, but expectations. Unlike its predecessors, the current American administration has not announced that it is adopting the two-state solution and opposing [Israeli] settlements.”

The veteran official noted that the Palestinians told the Trump team that they would only accept the two-state solution and work out the final-status issues according to international resolutions as the basis for any future agreement.

Meanwhile, he accused the US administration of “blackmailing” and attempting to punish the Palestinian people. He noted that there are 27 draft laws currently in Congress covering punitive measures against the Palestinians, including one calling for a halt to financial assistance and another calling for the US embassy to be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

With regard to the PLO office in the US, Erekat pointed out that its licence expired on 18 November but it has not been renewed by the State Department.

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