Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert described Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as "the only partner for making peace", rejecting the efforts of the Benjamin Netanyahu government to marginalize the veteran leader.
Olmert, who succeeded Netanyahu between 2006 and 2009, met Abbas in New York hours after the Palestinian president rejected, in a speech in the Security Council, President Donald Trump's plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The former Israeli prime minister was careful not to criticize Trump's plan, which paves the way for Israel to annex large areas of the West Bank, but stressed that any future negotiations need the moderate Palestinian leader Abbas.
"He is a man of peace, he opposes terrorism, and for this, he is the only partner that we can deal with," Olmert told reporters while Abbas was standing next to him.
"It will take some time, but these negotiations will be held in the end, and Israel’s partner in these negotiations will be Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas," he added.
Earlier, Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon had warned Olmert against meeting Abbas, as the Palestinian leader does not take into consideration Trump's proposals.
In his speech before the Security Council, President Abbas said that he rejected the US so-called peace plan because of its unilateral steps and because it violates United Nations resolutions.
WAFA quoted him saying the plan annuls Palestinian legitimacy and rights to self-determination, freedom and independence while legitimizing illegal Israeli settlements and annexation of occupied Palestinian land.
He urged the international community not to consider the plan as an international reference for negotiations. “It is an Israeli-American pre-emptive plan in order to put an end to the question of Palestine,” he said.
The president stressed that the plan was rejected because it does not bring peace or stability to the region, rather it rewards the occupation instead of holding it accountable for its crimes, stressing that the Palestinians will confront its application on the ground.
He said the US plan cancels achieving peace because it cancels all UN resolutions and all rights of the Palestinian people.
He called for convening an international peace conference in the presence of Palestine and Israel and to have an international mechanism to bring real peace between the Palestinians and Israel.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces today sealed off several main and secondary roads of towns and villages to the north and west of the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, according to residents.
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