Palestinian Leadership Moves Towards Finding 'Alternative Mechanism' for Negotiations

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz (right) with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during a reception ceremony in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on November 7, 2017. /Reuters Photo
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz (right) with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during a reception ceremony in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on November 7, 2017. /Reuters Photo
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Palestinian Leadership Moves Towards Finding 'Alternative Mechanism' for Negotiations

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz (right) with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during a reception ceremony in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on November 7, 2017. /Reuters Photo
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz (right) with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during a reception ceremony in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on November 7, 2017. /Reuters Photo

As Washington vetoed a Security Council resolution aimed at protecting the status of Jerusalem, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas sent representatives to Russia and China “to seek an alternative international mechanism” and find a replacement to the United States as mediator in the political process.

In parallel, the UN General Assembly said it would hold an emergency session on Thursday to vote on a draft resolution that rejects US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

On Monday, the United States vetoed a draft resolution submitted by Egypt during a Security Council session. Yemen and Turkey called for an emergency session of the 193-nation General Assembly, on behalf of the Arab group of states and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

Member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Ahmad Majdalani, who traveled to China, said the delegations would convey a message from Abbas about the necessity that the peace process falls within the framework of the United Nations.

Majdalani headed the delegation to China, while Abbas’ foreign relations adviser, Nabil Shaath, led a delegation to Russia. The new Palestinian moves have emphasized the PA’s insistence on boycotting the United States and isolating it from the political process.

Abbas is expected to arrive in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, before heading to France, where he will meet with President Emmanuel Macron.

He was due to visit Riyadh on Tuesday, but the meeting was postponed one day at a Saudi request.

The Palestinian president will meet with the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdul Aziz, and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to discuss the latest developments in the Palestinian file in the wake of the US decision on Jerusalem and its veto of the Security Council draft resolution.

Abbas will discuss in Saudi Arabia and France the creation of an alternative international mechanism for the United States, based on the French initiative last year, which ended with a peace conference attended by 25 foreign ministers from Arab and European countries and the United States, but issued a statement without clear mechanisms or time limit.



Kurdish PKK Militants to Hand over First Weapons in Ceremony in Iraq

PKK militants in northern Iraq (Reuters)
PKK militants in northern Iraq (Reuters)
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Kurdish PKK Militants to Hand over First Weapons in Ceremony in Iraq

PKK militants in northern Iraq (Reuters)
PKK militants in northern Iraq (Reuters)

Dozens of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants will hand over their weapons in a ceremony in northern Iraq on Friday, marking a symbolic but significant first step toward ending a decades-long insurgency with Türkiye.

The PKK, locked in conflict with the Turkish state and outlawed since 1984, decided in May to disband, disarm and end its armed struggle after a public call to do so from its long-imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan, Reuters said.

After a series of failed peace efforts, the new initiative could pave the way for Ankara to end an insurgency that has killed over 40,000 people, burdened the economy and wrought deep social and political divisions in Türkiye and the wider region.

Around 40 PKK militants and one commander were expected to hand over their weapons at the ceremony in the northern Iraqi city of Sulaymaniyah, people familiar with the plan said. The PKK is based in northern Iraq after being pushed well beyond Türkiye’s frontier in recent years.

The arms are to be destroyed later in another ceremony attended by Turkish and Iraqi intelligence figures, officials of Iraq's Kurdistan regional government, and senior members of Türkiye's pro-Kurdish DEM party - which also played a key role in facilitating the PKK's disarmament decision.

The PKK, DEM and Ocalan have all called on Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's government to address Kurdish political demands. In a rare online video published on Wednesday, Ocalan also urged Türkiye's parliament to set up a commission to oversee disarmament and manage the broader peace process.

Ankara has taken steps toward forming the commission, while the DEM and Ocalan have said that legal assurances and certain mechanisms were needed to smooth the PKK's transition into democratic politics.

Erdogan has said his government would not allow any attempts to sabotage the disarmament process, adding he would give people "historic good news".

Omer Celik, a spokesman for Erdogan's AK Party, said the disarmament process should not be allowed to drag on longer than a few months to avoid it becoming subject to provocations.