African leaders reject Trump's Mideast peace plan

African leaders on Sunday condemned US President Donald Trump's Mideast peace plan as illegitimate, taking advantage of an African Union summit to voice solidarity with "the Palestinian cause".

AU Commission Chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat told assembled heads of state that the plan unveiled in late January represented the "umpteenth violation of multiple United Nations and African Union resolutions".

He said that it was prepared without international consultation and that it "trampled on the rights of the Palestinian people", a line that drew applause in the main hall at AU headquarters.

Trump's long-delayed peace proposals were immediately rejected by the Palestinians, who have boycotted his administration over its pro-Israel stance.

The proposals include giving Israel the green light to annex settlements in the occupied West Bank, the largest part of the territories the Palestinians see as their future state.

The outgoing AU chair, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, said in his remarks Sunday that "the Palestinian cause will always be in the hearts and minds of the people of Africa".

His successor, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, compared Trump's proposals to regulations in place during his country's apartheid period.

"As I listened to it and as I read everything that's written about it, it brought to mind the horrible history that we in South Africa have gone through," he said.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who regularly attends AU summits, did not travel to Ethiopia this year.

Palestinian officials said last week that Abbas was heading to the UN to push for a Security Council resolution condemning Trump's peace proposals.

The resolution will almost certainly be vetoed by the US.

Abbas was represented Sunday by Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh, who reiterated Palestinian leaders' position that the Trump plan "has no legitimacy whatsoever".

Related Links
Space War News

Tweet

Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.

SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly

paypal only

SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once

credit card or paypal

Israeli strikes kill 23 Syrian, foreign fighters in Syria
Beirut (AFP) Feb 6, 2020
Israeli air strikes killed 23 Syrian and foreign fighters in Syria Thursday, a monitor said, the latest in a spate of raids Israel has said targeted an Iranian presence on its doorstep. Israel has pledged to prevent its main enemy from entrenching itself militarily in Syria, where it is backing President Bashar al-Assad's government alongside Russia and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. The pre-dawn raids killed three Iranians and seven Tehran-backed foreign fighters near Kisweh south of the ca ... read more