PALESTINIAN President Mahmoud Abbas has firmly rejected President Donald Trump’s ‘deal of the century’ the details of which were announced yesterday evening.
Abbas said: ‘Trump is a dog and the son of a dog. They called me from Washington and I did not pick up the phone … I said no and I will continue to say no.
‘We are going through difficult days and we are beginning to bear the consequences of the refusal. Resistance must be escalated at all points of friction. All young people must be encouraged.’
Speaking to the BBC’s Today programme yesterday morning Palestinian Ambassador to the UK, Husam Zomlot, said: ‘Things are bluntly clear, this is neither a deal, nor a plan, and it definitely has nothing to do with peace.
‘This is the scam of the century. It is fraud on every count. It is a fraud with its timing. Today the Israeli Knesset (parliament) is discussing the criminal charges and the immunity (of Netanyahu) – is that a coincidence?
‘Today and yesterday is the impeachment process (of Trump) we don’t need to know what is in the deal, we only need to know what is not in it. Jerusalem is not in it! It was President Trump who said Jerusalem is now off the table.
‘Jerusalem is not just an issue of sentimental religiousness, Jerusalem is owned by its own inhabitants. We have 350,000 Palestinians who own every home, every mosque, every shop, every church. I mean what do you do with these people?
‘It was actually a concession we made, to accept international legality, international legitimacy that decided that the resolution of this conflict will be on the basis of a two-state solution on the 1967 borders, that Israel will end its occupation that begun in 1967 and there will be a sovereign, independent state of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital and a fair resolution to the issue of refugees.
‘It is not us who decided so, it was the US-led international system and we accepted it.
‘Now today, to come and think that Palestinians will further compromise the twenty two per cent of Palestine and that our rights will be simply for sale as part of an offshore business in Washington, they do not understand nationhood and aspirations.
‘… This is about Trump and about Netanyahu, it isn’t about peace or about negotiation.
‘It isn’t about peace, it isn’t about resolution, it isn’t about anybody else … We have the greatest nation on Earth.
‘… the Palestinian people, their diversity, their energy, their rootedness, and the hope in their hearts, and I tell you such a nation will get where they are, and if people think that we are up for sale, then they do not know the people of Palestine.’
