Top Palestinian Authority Official Denies Reports of Regional Peace Initiative

Pictured Above: President Donald Trump gives his speech to the Muslim world in Saudi Arabia. Credit: YouTube.

(JNS.org) Majdi al-Khalidi, a diplomatic adviser to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Thursday denied reports of a new U.S.-led regional peace plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“There is no regional peace process or anything like it. No one is talking about it with us, or with anyone,” Khalidi told The Times of Israel. 

He added, “First the two-state solution must exist and be implemented. And once the Palestinians will have their own state beside the state of Israel, then the Arab peace initiative can be implemented.”

Khalidi’s denial of a new regional peace initiative comes after President Donald Trump’s trip to Israel and the disputed territories earlier this week. For some Israeli officials and Mideast experts, Trump’s visit brought hope of making historic gains towards an Israeli-Palestinian peace accord in the context of a broader regional framework. 

Additionally, in the days leading up to Trump’s arrival in Israel, reports stated that Arab leaders were mulling improved ties with Israel, conditioned on the Jewish state making various concessions to reach a peace deal with the Palestinians.