Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to address UN Security Council as US shuns compromise

Today, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will address the United Nations Security Council’s monthly meeting on the Middle East.

His appearance comes amid the continued fallout from US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, a decision breaking with decades of US policy. At today’s meeting, Abbas plans on asking the council to grant full UN membership to the Palestinians and reiterating his call for an internationally backed panel to broker future talks between the Palestinians and Israelis.

Since Trump’s December announcement, relations between Abbas’s Palestinian Authority (PA) and the White House have soured. In protest, Mr Abbas cancelled a meeting with Vice President Mike Pence scheduled shortly after the announcement. Additionally, in January, the US slashed over $60 million in aid to the PA.

With Trump continuing to threaten cuts to Palestinian aid and the US likely to veto any proposal to upgrade PA membership from its current “non-member state” status, expect relations between the Trump administration and Abbas to worsen as US policy pivots away from cooperation and compromise with the Palestinians.