Abbas calls for international Mideast peace meet by mid-2018

United Nations: During a rare address to the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called for an international Middle East peace conference to be convened by the middle of this year.
The Palestinians no longer view Washington as a neutral negotiator and have been calling for a collective approach to try and broker Middle East peace.
They are furious at US President Donald Trump's recognition of occupied Jerusalem as Israel's capital in December and cut to U.S. funding for the U.N. agency that helps Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).