Chinese initiative is an alternative to ‘deal of the century’, says PA

A senior advisor on foreign affairs and international relations to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed on Monday a Chinese peace initiative, Quds Press has reported. Nabil Shaath suggested that it is an alternative to the US “deal of the century”. The latter, he told official PA Radio, will fail because the Palestinians, Arabs and international community have rejected its terms.

“We have enough time for resistance until we establish the international framework which guarantees our right to the end of the occupation and to establish our independent state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital,” Shaath explained.

The Chinese initiative, according to Quds Press, calls for a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as the capital, in addition to supporting the concept of “common security and sustainable and comprehensive cooperation” which sees an end to the building of Israeli settlements, stops violence against civilians and guarantees early peace talks. In contrast, the US deal would bring an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at the expense of Palestinian rights. Its main drawback is the recognition of East Jerusalem as part of Israel.

Senior American officials have been touring Arab capitals to persuade regional leaders to adopt the so-called “deal of the century” in order to impose it on the Palestinians. It is rumoured that the PA and Arab leaders have rejected the deal, although Israeli media reports have revealed that the leaders of the most directly involved Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia and Jordan, have indeed accepted it.

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