U.S. Criticizes Palestinians at Security Council

As the lone diplomat siding with Israel at a special session of the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday, U.S. Ambassador Kelly Craft called on the Palestinian Authority to enter into a dialogue on the Trump Mideast peace plan.

“The Palestinian leadership must keep an open mind and work with us to realize [President Donald] Trump’s Plan. This is not a binding, all-or-nothing agreement but an open proposal,” Craft told the member states, who gathered to discuss the planned annexations in Yehuda and Shomron.

At the meeting, Israeli ambassador Danny Danon said that “some in the international community choose to reward the Palestinians’ rejectionism and ignore reality.”

“There is a strong and undeniable connection between the Jewish people and their historic homeland of Judea and Samaria,” Danon said. “Should Israel decide to extend its sovereignty, it would be doing so with respect to areas over which it has always maintained a legitimate historical and legal claim.

“The discussion over the extension of Israeli sovereignty to certain areas in Judea and Samaria does not stand in the way of peace. What stands in the way of peace is Palestinian rejectionism and the encouragement that they get from some in the international community,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said it was up to Israel to decide how and when to carry out its plan to apply sovereignty in Yehuda and Shomron. He expressed regret, however, that the PA had rejected the plan outright without any discussion.

Meanwhile, an annual State Department report on counter-terrorism singled out PA President Mahmoud Abbas’ failure to cease supporting violence, The Jerusalem Post reported.

“President Mahmoud Abbas has stated in the past a commitment to non-violence, a two-state solution and previous PLO commitments, but he has also made inconsistent statements that appear to contradict and undermine his prior commitments,” the report states.

Abbas has also defied demands from Israel, the U.S. and the E.U. to halt payments to terrorists and their families.

Regarding his recent decision to sever security ties with Israel, the report says the PA’s security forces cannot manage counter-terror operations on their own.