Abbas congratulates Trump, urges him to pursue peace deal

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas congratulated US President-elect Donald Trump on his victory in a statement Wednesday morning, and said he hoped Trump would realize a “just peace” during his term in office, according to the official PA news outlet Wafa.

In an earlier statement by Abbas’s spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh, also published by Wafa, the PA said it would work with any American president who strives to realize a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. That statement, issued immediately after Trump’s victory was announced, omitted the president-elect’s name.

Meanwhile, Hamas said it expected more “bias” from the US, although it was hoping Trump would “reevaluate” his stance on the Palestinian issue.

Achieving peace in the region, Abu Rudeineh continued, had to be based on an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

“The US administration should realize that achieving peace and security in the region will come by solving the Palestinian issue with a just and internationally legitimate solution, which will lead to the elimination of chaos and extremism in the world.”

Much remains unclear about how Trump will approach the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; however, he has already said, controversially, that he would move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Such a move would break with decades of precedent and put Washington at odds with nearly all UN member states.

Also commenting of Trump’s victory, PLO Secretary General Saeb Erekat said he hoped the next US administration would realize the principle of a two-state solution.

“We hope the next US administration will turn the talk about the principle of a two-state solution into a reality on the ground,” he said in a statement carried by Wafa.

“Security, peace and stability in this region will not come without defeating the Israeli occupation, which started in 1967, 50 years ago, and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, living in security and peace alongside the State of Israel,” he continued.

Erekat’s statement also did not mention the president-elect by name.

Reacting to Trump’s victory, Hamas said it did not expect a change in US “bias” against the Palestinians.

“The Palestinian people do not count much on any change in the US presidency because the US policy towards the Palestinian issue is a consistent policy on the basis of bias,” Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told AFP.

“Nevertheless, we hope that US president Trump will re-evaluate this policy and rebalance it on the Palestinian issue,” he said.

AFP contributed to this report.