Palestinian foreign minister urges Israel to return to talks

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki was speaking at a joint news conference in Cairo with Egypts Foreign Minister Sameh Shukry and Jordans Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, who both joined him in his call for a return to talks.Al-Malki said that the Palestinian Authority is ready to cooperate with U.S. President-elect Joe Biden, on the basis of achieving a Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital on territory Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war.

The Palestinian foreign minister on Saturday urged Israel to return to talks based on a two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, ahead of the transition to a new US administration. Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki was speaking at a joint news conference in Cairo with Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shukry and Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, who both joined him in his call for a return to talks.

Al-Malki said that the Palestinian Authority is ready to cooperate with U.S. President-elect Joe Biden, on the basis of achieving a Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital on territory Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war. “We are ready for cooperation and dealing with the new U.S. administration, and we are expecting that it would re-draw its ties with the state of Palestine,” he said.

Palestinian negotiators have suffered numerous setbacks under the Trump administration and complained about what they say are biased pro-Israel steps from Washington. Trump has sidelined the Palestinian Authority, recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital, moved the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv, slashed financial assistance for the Palestinians, and reversed course on the illegitimacy of Israeli settlements on land claimed by the Palestinians.

Israel captured east Jerusalem and the West Bank in the 1967 war. The international community considers both areas to be occupied territory, and the Palestinians seek them as parts of a future independent state. Israel annexed east Jerusalem and considers it part of its capital — a step that is not internationally recognized.

Israel has built a far-flung network of settlements that house nearly 700,000 Jewish settlers in the West Bank and Jerusalem since their capture in 1967. The Palestinians want both territories for their future state and view the settlements as a violation of international law and an obstacle to peace — a position with wide international support.

Al-Malki also said they have returned to security coordination with Israel, after Israeli authorities sent a “message, for the first time, that they are abiding by all agreements” made with the Palestinians. In May, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced that the PA would cut ties with Israel, including security coordination, following Israel's pledge to annex large parts of the occupied West Bank.

In a statement following their meeting, the three ministers said they would work to rally international support against Israel's “illegitimate measures” that include settlements' expansion, demolishing dozens of Palestinian homes and seizing their land. “These are illegitimate Israeli actions on the ground that affect all chances to reach a comprehensive peace process that can only happen by the two-state solution,” said Safadi, Jordan's top diplomat, at the news conference.

The ministers said in their statement that Jerusalem's status should be resolved in the negotiations, calling for Israel “as the occupying power, to stop all violations that target the Arab, Islamic and Christian identity of Jerusalem and its sanctuaries.”.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)