Palestine's Abbas reiterates wish for multilateral peace mechanism

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas reiterated Thursday his wish to establish a multilateral mechanism to overlook the peace process with Israel.

Abbas's statements came after a meeting with visiting Omani Foreign Minister Yousef Bin Alawi at the presidential headquarters in West Bank city of Ramallah.

According to a statement published by the official Palestinian news agency WAFA, Abbas stressed the importance of setting up a "multilateral mechanism that should be announced through an international conference based on the UN resolutions to salvage the peace process."

Abbas briefed his guest over the latest developments on the Palestinian scene and the political impasse that resulted from the U.S. president Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

Bin Alawi highlighted his country's "long standing support to the Palestinian people's quest to gain freedom and independence," said the statement.

On December 6, 2017, almost one year after Trump took office, he recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital and ordered the U.S. State Department to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to the city. As a result, Palestinians disqualified U.S. from being the sole sponsor of the peace negotiations with Israel.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)