The UN Security Council will hold a closed-door briefing where senior White House adviser Jared Kushner on Thursday will apprise the members of the world body on his father-in-law and US President Donald Trump’s controversial Middle East peace plan which was already rejected by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
Belgian UN Ambassador Marc Pecsteen de Buytswerve, whose country holds the Security Council presidency for the month of February said, “The understanding is that the US will request closed consultations in order to brief council members on the American plan. The idea, as I understand, will be that Kushner, as the special envoy, would be participating in that meeting,”
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On Thursday, the closed-door meeting will be held probably between 12 pm and 1 pm, Buytswerve added, Xinhua news reported.
The Security Council will also hold a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on February 11, said the ambassador.
The council has been approached informally with a request of organizing a meeting with Abbas.
On January 28, President Trump unveiled his long-awaited Middle East peace plan, envisaging a two-state solution but keeping Jerusalem as Israel’s undivided capital.
On Saturday, Arab foreign ministers have also come up with their rejection of the plan.
During the Arab League emergency meeting held in Cairo, foreign ministers said, “Rejection of the US-Israeli Deal of the Century comes as it does not fulfil the minimum rights and aspirations of the Palestinian people”.
The meeting of the Arab League Council at the level of foreign ministers was attended by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit.
Announcing the plan from the White House with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu standing next to him, US President Donald Trump said his plan “could be the last opportunity” for Palestinians, which, he said, “are in poverty and violence, exploited by those seeking to use them as pawns to advance terrorism and extremism”.
The Palestinians have already rejected the proposal, accusing Trump of being biased in favour of Israel as he has adopted policies that bolster Israel at their expense.
Hours after the plan was unveiled by President Donald Trump, his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan also came up with his fiery comment, saying “absolutely unacceptable”.
President Trump said his plan includes “a realistic two-state solution,” and that his administration would “work to create a territory for a contiguous Palestinian state in the future” that would “reject terrorism.”
Under the plan, Jerusalem will remain Israel’s “undivided capital,” Trump said, raising eyebrows after he had said that the capital of the Palestinian state would be in “eastern Jerusalem,” where the United States would “proudly open an embassy.”
The plan builds on a 30-page economic plan for the West Bank and Gaza that was unveiled last June and which the Palestinians have also rejected.