U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley slammed Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas at the U.N. on Tuesday after he declined to stay in the chamber for her remarks.
“The United States stands ready to work with the Palestinian leadership. Our negotiators are sitting right behind me, ready to talk, but we will not chase after you. The choice, Mr. President, is yours,” Haley said, addressing Abbas, who had left the chamber.
{mosads}”We recognize the suffering of the Palestinian people, as I have recognized here today. I sit here today offering the outstretched hand to the Palestinian people in the cause of peace,” she said.
Haley’s speech followed addresses from Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon and Abbas to the chamber.
“We are ready to begin negotiations immediately in order to achieve the freedom and independence of our people,” Abbas said on Tuesday.
The Palestinian leader also expressed a desire for multilateral negotiations and drawing borders along the previous 1967 lines.
He pitched the idea of leaving Jerusalem, including the Palestinian-majority eastern section, as an open city.
Danon struck a different tone in his address, calling for direct negotiations between the Isralies and Palestinians, and slamming Palestinian leadership.
“[The Palestinians] need leadership that will build hospitals, not pay terrorists. They need leadership that will negotiate with Israel, speak to us and not run away from dialogue,” Danon said.
Relations between the U.S. and Palestinian leadership have declined in recent months.
President Trump sparked outrage among the Palestinians and the international community late last year when he announced the U.S. would recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital.
He also threatened to cut additional aid to Palestinians last month after the U.S. announced it was withholding $65 million in aid to the United Nations agency that serves Palestinian refugees.
Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Secretary General Saeb Erekat said in op-ed earlier this month that Trump has “disqualified” his administration from peace talks between Israel and Palestine with his actions in the region.
“When President Trump decided to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, he put the Palestinians in an impossible position and joined Israel in a ‘blame game,'” Erekat said. “But this is not a game to us. This is about our very existence and upholding international law.”