Abbas to visit Saudi Arabia amid speculation of “bias” peace plan

Palestine

Published: 2017-12-18 15:05

Last Updated: 2024-04-19 11:46


Abbas is expected to arrive in Riyadh on Tuesday. (Archive)
Abbas is expected to arrive in Riyadh on Tuesday. (Archive)

The Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia on Tuesday in an official visit, WAFA News reported.

Abbas will arrive to Riyadh to meet the Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, during which they will discuss the recent US decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, according to the Palestine’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Bassam al-Agha.

Following Abbas’ visit to Saudi Arabia in November, it was rumoured that a peace deal was proposed by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman to Abbas that was “bias” towards Israel. Rumours suggested that Abbas was pressured to either accept it or to resign within a two-month period.

Abbas’s spokesman described this as “fake news” that “does not exist,” while Agha also dismissed the reports saying they aimed to undermine Saudi-Palestinian relations.

The rumoured proposal indicates a Palestinian state with only non contiguous parts of the West Bank and limited sovereignty over their own territory.

The plan will not affect the Israeli settlements of the West Bank and will not include East Jerusalem as the Palestinian capital. Palestinian refugees are also reported to not be allowed the right to return for their ancestors home country.

The Saudi proposal also suggested that Abu Dis, a suburb of East Jerusalem, could be the Palestinians’ capital, the New York Times reported.

However, Saudi Arabia denied its support for such plan.