国际英语新闻:Palestine accuses U.S. of attempting to "de-legitimize" President Abbas

RAMALLAH, May 11 (Xinhua) -- Secretary General of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Saeb Erekat said on Saturday that the U.S. government is trying to "de-legitimize" Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

The United States has "waged a war against Abbas by all means," because Abbas rejects anything that contradicts international law regarding the Palestinian cause, Erekat told the official radio station voice of Palestine.

His statements came after Jason Greenblatt, U.S. President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy, accused the Palestinians of trying to "kill" the U.S. peace plan before it was unveiled.

"The plan can offer them (Palestinians) something that can be exciting and can transform their current situation ... They should sit tight and hold their fire until the plan comes out," Greenblatt was quoted by Israeli public radio as saying.

The PLO official, however, said the Americans have not shown the Palestinian side any plans, and the Palestinians only see the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israeli capital, the U.S. closure of PLO office in Washington and its legitimization of Jewish settlements on the Palestinian territory, which violate international law.

Erekat criticized the U.S. moves for trying to test the Palestinians' patience and forcing the Palestinians to join the negotiation table.

"But we totally boycott the U.S. government," he noted.

Trump's advisor Jared Kushner previously said Trump's peace plan will be unveiled in June, after the current month of Ramadan.

The Palestinian Authority has been boycotting the U.S. government since it recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital in December 2017 and moved its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem in May 2018.

Meanwhile, the U.S. government has taken several steps against Palestinians, including shutting down the PLO office in Washington, cutting aid to both the Palestinians and the UN agency providing support for the Palestinian refugees.

Abbas has repeatedly said the U.S. "Deal of the Century" falls way short of the expectations and aspirations of the Palestinian people for lasting and just peace settlement, calling for an international multilateral peace mechanism to overlook peace negotiations.

The last round of U.S.-sponsored negotiations between Palestine and Israel ended in 2014 after almost nine months of talks without achieving any breakthrough.