PA actively lobbying ahead of President Trump’s “Deal of the Century”; New PA PM: The whole system is to try to push us to surrender and agree to an unacceptable peace proposal. This a financial blackmail, which we reject.; Netanyahu tasked to form new coalition government.
The Palestinians again denounced President Trump’s “Deal of the Century”, the Palestinian Authority (PA) leadership giving several interviews over the past days reemphasizing that it will reject the deal. The peace plan will be published after Prime Minister Netanyahu creates a coalition government, which he received the green light for on Wednesday.
Newly appointed PA Prime Minister, Mohammad Shtayyeh, claimed on Tuesday that “There are no partners in Palestine for Trump. There are no Arab partners for Trump and there are no European partners for Trump,” accusing Israel and the United States of a “financial war” on the Palestinians. He claimed, “Israel is part of the financial war that has been declared upon us by the United States. The whole system is to try to push us to surrender and agree to an unacceptable peace proposal. This a financial blackmail, which we reject.” The Palestinians are using the same rhetoric of Hezbollah and Iran, claiming economic war perpetuated by both the “Zionists” and the United States.
A spokesman for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday confirmed the Palestinians are looking for other peace partners to replace the United States, mainly in Russia, but also in China and Japan. He also accused the United States of not working in an “honest and unbiased way” and claimed that the Palestinians are seeking an alliance for a future peace deal, similar to the Iran nuclear deal, with several participating partners.
The Palestinians have refused to enter any negotiations if east Jerusalem is not the capital of a Palestinian, sovereign state. It continues to call to return to the 1967 borders. They did, however, claim last week that Abbas is ready to meet Prime Minister Netanyahu without any preconditions. Abbas is expected to meet with Arab leaders over the coming weeks to proactively combat Trump’s efforts in the region.
Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin confirmed on Wednesday that he has tasked Prime Minister Netanyahu with forming the next coalition government. The prime minister is expected to annex Israeli settlements in the West Bank and continue to lobby for global recognition of Israel’s sovereignty over Jerusalem under the next Israeli government. The Palestinians have already rejected the forthcoming, right-wing government.
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