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Palestinians boast of blocking Trump’s peace plan

The spokesman for the Palestinian Authority bragged about blocking the Trump administration’s peace plan designed to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

By: Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

Palestinian Authority (PA) spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina said in a statement to the PA mouthpiece Wafa on Saturday that Ramallah has succeeded in stopping the nascent American peace plan, which President Trump had dubbed “the deal of the century.”

“Thanks to the steadfastness of the Palestinian people and the leadership’s commitment to the national constants, the US-led ‘deal of the century’ has been thwarted,” he stated.

The deal – many of whose clauses have been supposedly leaked to media over the months but never confirmed by any government officials – was assumed by the Palestinians to be extremely favorable to Israel and therefore to be automatically shunned.

The PA has worked hard to stop Arab governments from endorsing it a priori. Until now, the unrevealed plan has yet to be publicly supported by Riyadh, Cairo or Amman, although it has been alleged that various Arab allies have signaled positive reactions privately to the US administration.

Abbas spokesman: US plan dangerous for entire region

According to Wafa, Rudeina claimed that the American proposal would have unpredictable – read “dangerous” – consequences not only for the Palestinians.

“If the deal had succeeded, it would have become a regional deal affecting all the peoples and countries of this region,” he said, urging unnamed countries to support the Palestinian position.

“Some parties,” he said, “may jeopardize [principle issues] by creating a clear break-up of the nationalist position…. They have to stick together.”

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has proclaimed his rejection of the long-awaited American plan ever since President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in December. Abbas also refused to meet US administration envoys who came to the region in June to discuss the proposal in Jerusalem, Amman, Riyadh and Doha.

At the time, an American official expressed surprise that the Palestinians would decline to examine a plan that was to serve as a basis for direct peace negotiations.

“We assume there will be fair and substantial criticism of the plan, but we are astonished that Abbas won’t even see it,” the official said. “It would be a shame for the Palestinian people if the Palestinian leadership refuses to engage with this plan.”

It appears, however, that not all Palestinians support a boycott of the US administration over the peace deal.

While “it is right to reject the American plan as it violates Palestinian rights, a boycott on the entire US administration is not helpful,” Nabil Amro, a former Palestinian minister of information, told The Media Line.

“The US is still supporting the PA in matters of security. Why do we accept security cooperation, but not the political collaboration?” he added.