Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erekat, speaks during a news conference. (AP/Amr Nabil)
Amid ongoing meetings in Jerusalem between the US’ Mideast peace delegation and Israeli leaders, Saeb Erekat promoted the Palestinian boycott of the Trump administration, which he says seeks to undercut PA leadership.
By: World Israel News Staff
On Saturday, top Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat accused President Donald Trump’s peace team of plotting to topple the Palestinian Authority.
The accusations were launched amid a visit to Jerusalem by Trump senior adviser Jared Kushner and US envoy to the Middle East Jason Greenblatt, who met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday and were slated to meet with him again on Saturday night.
The Palestinians reportedly refused to meet with the US team as part of their boycott of the Trump administration following the president’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and the US’ subsequent move of its embassy to that location.
In response to a statement released by Kushner and Greenblatt referencing discussions with Netanyahu about humanitarian issues related to the Gaza Strip, which is ruled by the Hamas terror group, Erekat claimed, “The goal behind this is to sustain [Hamas’] coup and keep Gaza separated from [Palestinian-controlled areas of Judea and Samaria] . . . to creat[e] a mini-state in Gaza while bringing down the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank,” reported the official Palestinian media outlet WAFA.
“In order to target the leadership, the US administration starts by creating a state of destabilization and confusion in [Judea and Samaria] and at the same time works on undercutting international consensus on rejecting the so-called deal of the century and American conspiracies and support for the Palestinian cause,” said Erekat.
His reference to the “deal of the century” was an allusion to Trump’s as-yet unrevealed Mideast peace plan, which the Palestinians have repeatedly declared they will reject in no uncertain terms.
Kushner and Greenblatt’s meetings in Israel follow similar discussions during a Mideast tour that has included stops in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Egypt.
In addition to accusing the US team of trying to topple the PA, Erekat also claimed the US seeks to eliminate the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA).
“They want to terminate the role of UNRWA by proposing direct aid to the countries hosting the Palestinian refugees and sideline the UN agency,” Erekat claimed. “On top of this, they are planning financial aid to the Gaza Strip worth one billion dollars for projects, also separate from UNRWA and under the title of solving a humanitarian crisis.”
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