Palestine state in Sinai not acceptable, says Palestinian official

Palestine denounced plans offered by Egypt and Israel to establish a Palestinian state in the Sinai peninsula, a Palestinian official stated on Wednesday.

Husam Zomlot, an adviser to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, stressed in a press conference that Israeli politicians have discussed a Palestinian state in Egypt's Sinai, saying that "Palestinian state borders are known. The plan of settling Palestinians in the Sinai peninsula in Egypt has become a new Israeli policy. This is not acceptable by any means."

The settlement of Palestinians in Sinai is an old plan that has been offered by the Egyptian authorities several times, which has been rejected outright by Palestinian authorities. The plan was first proposed by the Egyptian government in 1956, according to the Palestinian president.

Ahead of the meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week, an Israeli minister stated that Israel and Egypt have revived an old plan to settle Palestinians in the Sinai peninsula, rather than creating a Palestinian state in the West Bank.