Palestine's Ambassador to UN Describes Trump’s Plan as ‘Earthquake’

Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations Riyad Mansour sits at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, US, October 16, 2018. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations Riyad Mansour sits at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, US, October 16, 2018. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
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Palestine's Ambassador to UN Describes Trump’s Plan as ‘Earthquake’

Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations Riyad Mansour sits at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, US, October 16, 2018. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations Riyad Mansour sits at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, US, October 16, 2018. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

Palestine's Permanent Representative to the UN Riyad Mansour has described the peace deal submitted by US President Donald Trump as an “earthquake.”

Mansour said following his meeting with head of the Vietnamese permanent mission to the UN Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy that “there is not a single Palestinian official (who) will meet with American officials now after they submitted an earthquake, the essence of it the destruction of the national aspirations of the Palestinian people. This is unacceptable.”

He turned down an invitation by US Ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft to discuss the peace plan, wondering whether the Arab nations approve the Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem and its sacred Islamic and Christian sites, including Al-Aqsa Mosque.

After his meeting with President of the UN General Assembly Tijani Muhammad-Bande, Mansour told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will visit New York on Feb. 10 and will hold talks with Security Council members the next day.

Responding to this, Craft said the US was ready to facilitate talks and that she was "happy to play any role" that contributes to the Israeli-Palestinian peace plan unveiled by the US President.

She said the plan presented by the Trump administration is a “very solid opportunity for peace in the region” adding that Palestinian leaders “have to want peace as much as we do, actually more than we do.”

Mansour warned that Trump’s plan gives Israel the right to transfer around 300,000 Palestinians who hold the Israeli nationality from Umm al-Fahm to Kfar Qasim.

Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said that “the position of the United Nations on the two-state solution has been defined, throughout the years, by relevant Security Council and General Assembly resolutions by which the Secretariat is bound.”

He added: “The United Nations remains committed to supporting Palestinians and Israelis in resolving the conflict on the basis of United Nations resolutions, international law, and bilateral agreements and realizing the vision of two States – Israel and Palestine – living side by side in peace and security within recognized borders, on the basis of the pre-1967 lines.”



Tom Barrack: There Is One Syria

Syria's interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, right, meets with US Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack at the People's Palace in Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
Syria's interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, right, meets with US Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack at the People's Palace in Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
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Tom Barrack: There Is One Syria

Syria's interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, right, meets with US Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack at the People's Palace in Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
Syria's interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, right, meets with US Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack at the People's Palace in Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

US Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack described on Saturday the lifting of US sanctions on Syria as a “strategic fresh start” for the war-ravaged nation and said that the US was not intending to pursue “nation-building or federalism.”

The Syrian state news agency, SANA, quoted Barrack as telling the Arab News website, that the Trump administration’s removal of sanctions on May 13 was aimed at offering the Syrian people “a new slice of hope” following over a decade of civil war.

He described the Middle East as a “difficult zip code at an amazingly historic time.”

“President (Trump)’s message is peace and prosperity,” Barrack said, adding that “sanctions gave the people hope. That’s really all that happened at that moment.”

He noted that the US policy shift is intended to give the emerging Syrian regime a chance to rebuild.

The envoy clarified that the original US involvement in Syria was driven by counter-ISIS operations, and not aimed at regime change or humanitarian intervention.

He reaffirmed Washington’s position against a federal model for Syria, saying the country must remain unified with a single army and government.

“There’s not going to be six countries. There’s going to be one Syria,” he said, ruling out the possibility of separate autonomous regions.

Barrack added: “The US is not dictating terms but would not support a separatist outcome: We’re not going to be there forever as the babysitter.”

Last Wednesday, the Syrian government welcomed any path with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) that would enhance the unity and territorial integrity of the country, reiterating its unwavering commitment to the principle of “One Syria, One Army, One Government,” and its categorical rejection of any form of partition or federalism.

Barrack confirmed that the US is closely monitoring the announcement that the first group of PKK fighters had destroyed their weapons in northern Iraq.

“This could be the first step towards long-term resolution of the Kurdish issue in Türkiye,” he said, but cautioned that questions remain about the SDF’s ongoing ties to the PKK leadership. “They (the SDF) have to decide: Are they Syrians? Are they Kurds first? That’s their issue.”

The envoy stressed that the current US strategy offers a narrow but real chance at stability.