Abbas: U.S. plan offers Palestinians 'Swiss cheese' state

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Representatives for Palestinians and Israelis traded bitter rebukes at the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday (February 11).

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas derided a peace plan proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump and eagerly embraced by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Waving a copy of a map showing a how the plan envisions a future Palestinian state, Abbas said it resembles "Swiss cheese."

(SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PALESTINIAN PRESIDENT MAHMOUD ABBAS, SAYING:

"This is the state that they will give us. It's like a Swiss cheese, really. Who among you will accept a similar state and similar conditions?"

(SOUNDBITE) (English) ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, SAYING:

"But you, Mr. President, you recognized that Israel must have sovereignty in the Jordan Valley."

Released with great fanfare at the White House last month, Trump's plan would recognize Israeli sovereignty over swaths of the occupied West Bank claimed by Palestinians.

It offers to recognize a Palestinian capital in the town of Abu Dis, east of Jerusalem, but offers a patchwork of territory carved up by roads and settlements controlled by Israel.

Palestinians in the West Bank and within Israel demonstrated against the proposal.

A public opinion poll released last week showed 94 percent of Palestinians rejected the American offer, which Trump has called "the Deal of the Century."

Abbas at the U.N. called on Trump to disavow the plan and propose a return to negotiations building on prior United Nations resolutions based on the internationally recognized pre-1967 lines.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS DANNY DANON, SAYING:

"But President Abbas is not serious about negotiations or about peace."

Israel's ambassador to the United Nations retorted that Abbas's rejection of the American proposal made him an obstacle to peace, and insisted he must step down.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS DANNY DANON, SAYING:

"Only when he steps down can Israel and the Palestinians move forward."

At a campaign event in Israel, Netanyahu responded to the Palestinian leader's U.N. comments.

(SOUNDBITE) (Hebrew) ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER, BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, SAYING:

"This is not Swiss cheese. This is the best plan that exists for the Middle East - for the Middle East - and for the State of Israel and for the Palestinians, too."

But not all Israelis are with Netanyahu.

Abbas appeared later on Tuesday alongside former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

The two said the sides should return to talks but based on earlier negotiations that provided for a more contiguous Palestinian state.

Olmert and Abbas failed to reach an agreement at U.S.-backed talks in 2008.

Those negotiations were cut short when Olmert stepped down amid a corruption probe.

He was found guilty in 2014 and served 16 months in jail.

It's a fate that could find his successor, Netanyahu, who is currently fighting for his political survival.

The current prime minister was indicted last month on corruption charges, and is in the midst of a re-election campaign - the nation's third election in less than a year.