By: Aryeh Savir
Jason Greenblatt, former assistant to President Donald Trump and the former US Middle East Envoy, slammed the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) leadership after they announced their rejection of President Donald Trump’s Deal of the Century Middle East peace plan even before it was published.
Trump announced last week that he will unveil his plan in the coming days and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Opposition leader Benny Gantz will visit Washington this week and meet with Trump to discuss the plan.
Reports on the Deal of the Century indicate that it calls for the Israeli annexation of some 30% of the territory in Judea and Samaria already under its control, with the remaining 70% becoming a Palestinian state.
However, PA spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh denied Friday that the PA had discussed with the US administration the details of the deal.
“The Palestinian leadership has a clear and unwavering position, rejecting Trump’s decisions on Jerusalem and other issues as well as everything that has to do with the so-called deal of the century,” he stated.
Saeb Erekat, Secretary-General of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and chief negotiator with Israel tweeted on Friday a “Reminder to the International Community: Israel is an Occupying Power of the State of Palestine on the 1967 borders (East Jerusalem, West Bank and Gaza Strip).”
“Any deal, attempt or dictation that ignores this fact, will be recorded in history as the Fraud of the century,” he said.
Similarly, PA Minister of Civil Affairs Hussein al-sheik tweeted that “if they [the US] were to announce it [peace plan], the Palestinian leadership will take appropriate measures [sic] to the size of this plot.”
Greenblatt responded by accusing both of “so very typical” conduct.
“Rejecting something you haven’t seen, unwilling to act rationally/professionally, unrealistic demands that won’t happen, never thinking about Pals and improving lives,” he wrote.
“What a shame you act in this unprofessional way. Palestinians deserve SO much better!” he added.
Greenblatt has clashed with the PA’s leadership on several occasions and has accused them of choosing terrorism over peace, at the expense of their own people.
In a related development, TPS reported that the Palestinian leadership furiously rejected the US’s intention to publish its Deal of the Century peace plan next week, following reports on the various elements of the plan and the timing of the publication, before the Israeli elections in March.
Speaking from Kuwait with TPS, Fatah senior Jabril Rajoub who is a leading candidate to succeed Palestinian Authority (PA) head Mahmoud Abbas, said that “any plan that does not guarantee the establishment of an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders and which does not result in the division of Jerusalem, will be disaster for both peoples, both Israeli and Palestinian.”
Rajoub expressed concern over the intention to publish the plan in the near future and said that “only the two-state solution can guarantee hope and security for Israelis and Palestinians and create safe boundaries and positive relations between the parties.”
Rajoub also said that “a consensual diplomatic solution is the only way to ensure the interests and stability of the entire region.”
(TPS)
