Hamas rejected Trump’s workshop proposals, claims its a strategic threat facing the Palestinian cause; Haniyeh calls for unified Palestinian government; PA: Washington cannot and will not succeed on its own in achieving anything.
Hamas again rejected President Trump’s “Prosperity for Peace” workshop which was held in Bahrain this week, calling for a single, unified Palestinian government, hinting at unilateral efforts parallel to President Trump’s “Deal of the Century”.
Hamas head Ismail Haniyeh gave an address at a Palestinian event where leaders from the Palestinian Authority (PA) condemned the event, yet again. He used the all-to-common rhetoric used when referring to Israel and the United States, claiming the Trump Administration’s peace deal and efforts in the region, alongside Israel, are an attempt to sell Palestine. He stated on Tuesday, “We are witnessing a crucial historical moment. Our position is clear: Palestine is not for sale. No for deals which consecrate the occupier’s hegemony over our land.” He added, “The Palestinian people stand today in the face of the Manama workshop in a renewed uprising and political revolution, as Palestinians have sensed the unprecedented strategic threat facing the Palestinian cause.”
He additionally claimed the terrorist organization was ready to reenter talks with the Palestinian Authority, claiming “Hamas is ready now to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Gaza, in Cairo or anywhere,” calling for one, unified Palestinian government. His words echoed Abbas’s previous remarks earlier this week at the start of the Bahrain conference, which the PA boycotted, that of returning to the negotiation table.
The PA’s Deputy Prime Minister, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, on Wednesday not only denounced the conference, but he even claimed the Trump Administration made a “strategic mistake” in not conferring with the PA on its peace deal, even though the PA has been actively boycotting the United States since President Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital city in 2017. The PA leader boasted on its “success” in disrupting the event, claiming “Washington cannot and will not succeed on its own in achieving anything”.
President Trump’s Middle East team has attempted to negotiate with the PA since 2017.
The two-day workshop, headed by White House Senior Adviser Jared Kushner and attended by Arab leadership and delegations from Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Morocco are in attendance, as well as Israeli representation from the private sector.
