Palestinian Authority PM: Trump has 'wasted 4 years of everyone's time'

Oct. 13 (UPI) -- The prime minister of the Palestinian Authority says another four years of U.S. President Donald Trump would be disastrous for much of the Middle East.

In remarks Monday to the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, PA Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh criticized Trump for "wasting" time and slammed his efforts to broker a Middle East peace plan.

Shtayyeh called the U.S. electoral race between Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden "very important" to the Palestinian people and much of the world.

"God help us, the [European Union] and the whole world if there are four more years of Trump," he said.

"Trump has wasted four years of everyone's time. The ultimate deal was not delivered. [Trump's plan] was rejected by the Palestinians, the Arabs and Europe. The [United States] is just too biased."

Shtayyeh urged the EU body to recognize a Palestinian state, rejecting oft-repeated claims that it harbors terrorists.

"Palestinian leadership has never accepted terrorism," he said. "[The Palestinian Authority] calls for peaceful resistance, two states, negotiating and international law."

Shtayyeh also called on the EU committee to force Israel to accept the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, which aims to restore borders in the region to their alignment before the Six-Day War in the late 1960s. Israel captured much of the West Bank and the Golan Heights in the war.