Edited by: Fern Sidman

In response to the Trump “Deal of the Century” in which his administration rolled out a plan for long range peace between Israel and her Palestinian neighbors, on Saturday, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas announced  that he has decided to discontinue all political ties with the United States and Israel.

“We have informed the Israelis and Americans of this decision through two letters,” Abbas said in a speech at an emergency meeting of Arab League foreign ministers in Cairo.

Abbas said that the first letter was delivered to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the second one was handed to the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, as was reported in the JPost. 

“We informed them that Israel has abrogated the agreements signed with the Palestinians and violated the international legitimacy on which these agreements are based,” Abbas said, according to the JPost report.

“Therefore, we notified them that there will be no relations with Israel and the US. That includes security relations, in light of their disregard of the signed agreements and international legitimacy. The Israelis need to assume responsibility as an occupying power. We have the right to pursue our national struggle with peaceful means to end the occupation. We’re not going to carry rifles.”

“I was surprised by Trump’s announcement of the peace deal. The Americans called and told me that Trump wanted to send me the deal so that I could read it. I refused. They tried to get me on the phone with him a few times. I refused.”

“According to the plan, an undivided Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, and Al Aqsa Mosque as well will be divided in terms of days and times for prayer. Regarding Al Aqsa, they wrote ‘the Temple Mount.’ Meaning one day, they (the Jews – ed.) will pray there, and one day we will,” he added, according to an INN report.

Abbas stressed that “I reject the plan outright. I will not go down in history as the one who sold Jerusalem.”

Taking to Twitter, Benny Gantz, the head of the Blue and White party in Israel said: “Abbas has once again not missed an opportunity to be a rejectionist. The time has come to start working on behalf of the future generations and peace, instead of getting stuck in the past and preventing a future of hope for the entire region.”

Israel National News reported that former US Middle East Envoy Jason Greenblatt on Saturday night criticized Abbas for rejecting the Trump administration’s peace plan.

“Pres. Abbas speaks to Arab League/condemns plan intended to create a bright future for Palestinians but no one there speaks about 1 of the biggest problems for Palestinians- Iran-funded terrorists-Hamas/PIJ-who cause much suffering for Palestinians & Israelis. Time for the truth!” tweeted Greenblatt.

Last week, Greenblatt condemned Palestinian leaders for rejecting the Trump peace plan without even seeing it.

  “So very typical, rejecting something you haven’t seen, unwilling to act rationally/professionally, unrealistic demands that won’t happen, never thinking about Pals and improving lives. What a shame you act in this unprofessional way. Palestinians deserve SO much better!” Greenblatt tweeted.

Abbas said he told Israel and the U.S. that “there will be no relations with them, including the security ties” following the deal that Palestinians say heavily favors Israel.

According to an AP report, the summit of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo was requested by the Palestinians, who responded angrily to the American proposal.

Meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi prior to delivering his remarks on Saturday, bbas was reported to have discussed Trump’s Mideast peace plan with him and the ramifications thereof. 

The Palestinian leader said he refused to take President Trump’s phone calls and messages “because I know that he would use that to say he consulted us.”

“I will never accept this solution,” Abbas said. “I will not have it recorded in my history that I have sold Jerusalem.”

As part of his plan, Trump declared that Jerusalem would remain the “undivided capital” of Israel. However, he later stated that the Palestinian Arabs would have a capital in eastern Jerusalem, as was reported by INN.

Inside the plan itself, the Trump administration called for most of the city to remain unified under Israeli sovereignty, while turning Arab neighborhoods outside of the security barrier into “Al Quds”, the capital of Palestine. He said that the plan also endorsed a Two-State solution.

Trump also called for benchmarks to be satisfactorily met by the Palestinian Authority in order to progress with the establishment of their own independent state, living side by side with Israel. The executive in chief has required the Palestinians to respect human rights, to end its payments to terrorists, and to engage in the ongoing fight against terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

AP reported that Abbas said the Palestinians wouldn’t accept the U.S. as a sole mediator in any negotiations with Israel. He said they would go to the United Nations Security Council and other world and regional organizations to “explain our position.”

The UN Security Council will convene to discuss the matter the week of February 10th.

INN reported that the discussion is expected to include  Abbas, as well as Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, and other members of the council.

The PA delegation is preparing a resolution that would condemn Trump’s plan, though it is likely to be vetoed by the United States, as was reported by INN.  According to the peace plan, the US will veto any condemnation of the plan and prevent any attempt to impose sanctions on Israel.

Ambassador Danon is currently meeting with his counterparts on the Security Council to enlist their support for the joint US-Israeli action and to prevent support for any Palestinian declarations of protest, according to the INN report. 

“Mahmoud Abbas needs to understand that speeches in New York will not lead to the resolution of the conflict between Jerusalem and Ramallah. We will work for the international community to recognize the reality that Abbas is the only one objecting to peace at the council table, and he does not intend to advance any agreement,” said Danon.

The Arab League’s head, Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, said the proposal revealed a “sharp turn” in the long-standing U.S. foreign policy regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as was reported by the AP.

“This turn does not help achieve peace and a just solution,” he declared.

Aboul-Gheit said that the Palestinians reject the proposal, according to the AP report. He called for the two sides, the Israelis and the Palestinians, to negotiate to reach a “satisfactory solution for both of them.”

Abbas has been under mounting pressure from ordinary Palestinians and its rivals in the Islamic militant group Hamas to cut off security ties with Israel and the U.S. or even dismantle the increasingly unpopular Palestinian Authority, according to the AP report.

That would leave Israel responsible for the complicated and expensive task of providing basic services to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank.