Husam Zomlot: Why President Mahmoud Abbas “Won the Day”

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: So, all of that, I want to know your reaction to the fact that your president could not even muster the support, having come all the way from Ramallah on the West Bank to the United Nations to get a draft resolution passed, to even propose it, because of pressure from Israel, pressure from the United States, of course.

ZOMLOT: I think my president today was really the one who won the day. I believe he won it not only for us, the Palestinians, he won it for the rest of the world. He won it for our international system. It’s not only what he said and what he said was historic. President Abbas —

AMANPOUR: In what way?

ZOMLOT: It’s where he said.

AMANPOUR: What way?

ZOMLOT: In the way that there is hope. In the way that we are available for the hope. And that together, we will protect our laws, our rules, our international system and order and the Security Council is the place to do so, that’s number one. Number two, how come all the bully of the Trump administration, all the blackmail of all states worldwide, America has used its full leverage to literally threaten every state directly, yet we get an absolute consensus by our people, tens of thousands in the streets today in the West Bank. Consensus to reject this plan, which has nothing to do with peace. The consensus, unanimous decision by the Arab — all Arab states, the same Islamic States, the same European Union, rejection of the plan, the same African Union. And today, the 14 countries of the Security Council came up with statements very clear rejecting the plan, rejecting these attempts, rejecting the deviation from international resolutions. Only the U.S., next to Israel, today in front of our president was isolated. So, I don’t see this to be — we would always — we knew there would not be a resolution, Christiane. I mean, the U.S. would —

AMANPOUR: But you knew that you wanted to proposed one, you want to at least take a (INAUDIBLE), already it had been watered down under pressure.

ZOMLOT: I’ll tell you the truth. I’ll tell —

AMANPOUR: Couldn’t even take in.

ZOMLOT: I’ll tell you the truth. The so-called Trump plan, which is not a plan, by the way — and I read it for the fifth time, I think it’s tantamount to a war crime or crime against humanity. Lawyers will have to study this, will have to study the amount of hatred, racism, segregation if no engineering in this plan that I think implicates all of those who wrote it. However, the moment we rejected this plan, Christiane, the moment the President Abbas rejected this plan and with him the entire Palestinian people, it was enough. What we have been doing since then with the Arab states, with the Islamic world, with the African Union, with the European Union, and today, the Security Council and the 14 members minus the U.S., was actually to protect ourselves, all of us.

AMANPOUR: You know don’t you —

ZOMLOT: Or to protect the international system. So, I think we, the small Palestinians, against all this bully, I really believe have won. Have won because the message is loud and clear and it has received unanimous support of the international community minus Mr. Trump and Israel.