Israel rejects US proposal for regional summit with the Palestinian Authority

Israel officially rejected a US proposal to hold an international summit with the Palestinian Authority which sought to salvage a faltering peace agreement between Tel Aviv and Ramallah, Israeli media reported on Wednesday. 

Three senior Israeli officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Israeli Walla news website that the offer was made during the National Security Adviser Eyal Hulata's visit to Washington last week. 

Deputy US Secretary of State Wendy Sherman proposed a five-party summit, which brings together the foreign ministers of Israel, the Palestinian Authority, the United States, Egypt and Jordan in Washington or an alternative regional-based venue, such as Egypt or Jordan.

However, Hulata said that the current stance of the Israeli government would not be compatible with the demands of the other parties to bring about a diplomatic initiative and that Israel was uninterested in a summit that would just raise expectations.

"We don't like this idea. Experience in the past proves that a crisis of expectations is likely to bring about an escalation of violence in the field," a senior Israeli official told Walla.

The Israeli official expressed his astonishment at the US administration's insistence on holding such a summit, despite the lack of agreement between Israel and the US on the matter, the report said. 

There has been no comment from US officials in response to the report. 

According to a report, the Biden administration is trying to strengthen relations with the Palestinian Authority and reassert its support for the two-state solution.

In a phone call earlier this week, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas expressed his displeasure with the current US actions, criticising "American silence".

The last round of peace talks between Israel and the PA occurred in 2014. A few months later, Israel launched a large-scale military operation in the occupied West Bank after the kidnapping and killing of three Israelis by Palestinians. Moreover, Israel expanded its assault to include the besieged Gaza Strip, resulting in a nearly two-month-long armed conflict between the Israeli army and the “Hamas” movement in Gaza.

Since then, all the negotiations between the PA and Israel have ceased. 

Palestinian Authority rejects 'insulting' #US demand to stop paying detainees - https://t.co/9vuk8kqopB on @The_NewArab #Palestine pic.twitter.com/3k93JeqvpJ

— al whit🍉 (@soitiz) January 27, 2022

The Palestinians are currently seeking a different approach from the international community on a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, after years of marginalisation and the Israeli government's refusal to negotiate and revive the peace process.

Speaking to The New Arab, Palestinian political experts said that the Palestinian cause has faced a reality of marginalisation over the past years, in light of the inability of the international community to implement international and UN resolutions on the Palestinian issue.

Talal Okal, a Gaza-based analyst, said the Palestinians have waged a continuous struggle in line with international humanitarian law and international justice institutions, yet the international community has lagged in implementing what is lawful or protections owed. 

He stressed that attitudes towards the current events put Western countries before "a moral test". 

"How can they mobilise all their capabilities to condemn and punish a party from their perspective that endangers peace, while ignoring Israel and its purifying policies," added Okal.

On his part, Ashraf Al-Ajrami, a Ramallah-based former politician, told The New Arab that Israel insists on evading any political understanding with the Palestinians because it wants to continue the policy of "settlement expansion" and ignore all Palestinian rights.

"The US administration is facing a crisis of confidence with the Palestinians, and it will do its best to prove to the Palestinians that it wants to help in resolving the conflict with the Israelis," Al-Ajrami said.

"There is no doubt that Israel will not accept those offers that do not suit its colonial interests," he added.