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US initiative not conductive to Mideast settlement — Palestinian diplomat

"US initiatives regarding the peace settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict are always to the benefit of Israel," the ambassador said

MOSCOW, June 26. /TASS/. US initiatives on settling the Arab-Israeli conflict serve only the interests of Israel and make no positive contribution to the Middle East peace process, the Palestinian ambassador to Moscow, Abdel Hafiz Nofal, told reporters on Tuesday.

"US initiatives regarding the peace settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict are always to the benefit of Israel," the ambassador said. "The US makes no positive contribution to the solution of the Palestinian issue. In view of this, we need to find new international mechanisms to solve this issue."

Nofal added that his country has immediately rejected the US "deal of the century," because it creates no direct link between the peace settlement and border issue together with the status of the East Jerusalem.

"We are still fighting for creating our state within 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as the capital," he said. "We are always ready to negotiate with Israel on the basis of those principles. Otherwise, there will be no deal."

The Palestinian diplomat added that no Palestinian state officials or major businessmen will take part in the US-led conference in Manama, Bahrain, which he described as "an attempt to bribe the people of Palestine."

The Peace to Prosperity economic forum, which is taking place on June 25-26, is focused on economic aspects of the US plan to settle the Middle East conflict. The US initiative envisages investing about $50 billion into Palestine and neighboring countries. More than a half of this sum will be allocated to Palestine to implement over 100 projects to develop infrastructure, industry, healthcare and education. The rest will be invested into the economies of Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon.

In late May, the Russian Foreign Ministry described the deal as "a yet another American attempt to shift priorities of the regional agenda and impose an alternative vision of the Palestinian-Israeli settlement.".