Palestinians reiterate rejection of U.S. peace deal ahead of potential announcement

   RAMALLAH, Jan. 26 -- Palestinian officials on Sunday slammed the U.S. Middle East peace plan, ahead of a possible announcement by U.S. President Donald Trump.
   The U.S. peace deal, also known as the "Deal of the Century," has been rejected by Palestinians, who said they were not consulted on it.
   Palestinian President Spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeinah said that the Palestinian leadership will hold a series of meetings on all levels in order to "foil the 'Deal of the Century'." 
   "If the so-called 'Deal of the Century' is announced, it would have grave consequences on the entire region, because it will harm sovereignty of states in the region and their identities," he warned, urging the Arab world to support the Palestinian position.
   The Secretary General of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Saeb Erekat criticized Trump as "trying to forge peace between the two Israeli election contenders, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition leader Benny Gants, and not between Palestinians and Israelis."
   Meanwhile, top leaders of Palestinian political factions reiterated the public rejection of the U.S. peace deal. 
   "The so-called 'Deal of the Century' is an attempt to rip apart the Palestinians and their legitimate national rights," said the Deputy Secretary General of the Palestinian Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine Qais Abdelkarim in a statement. 
   "It is a green light to Israel to annex more of the West Bank's territory for its 'Greater Israel project,'" added Abdelkarim.
   Ahmad Majdalani, Secretary General of the Palestinian Popular Struggle Front, said that the U.S. peace plan would only push the Palestinian statehood project farther away. 
   "The only new thing is the attempt to draw the parameters of this liquidation project to make it look like it will be dealt with apart from the national rights of the Palestinian people," said Majdalani. 
   Along the same lines, member of the Palestinian People's Party politburo Walid al-Awad accused the U.S. of trying to salvage Netanyahu ahead of upcoming election on March 2. 
   Furthemore, Fatah party Central Committee member Jamal Muheisen called for popular movements to face the U.S. deal. 
   "The Arab and Muslim worlds are required to undertake their responsibilities in light of the U.S. arrogance, and not to stay bound to statements and condemnations," Muheisen said, urging for an Arab movement to impose the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative.
   The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that the U.S. President will not gain "a single Palestinian or Arab to agree on the Deal of the Century."
   Trump has invited Netanyahu and his rival Gants to the White House for separate meetings this week, to discuss the details of the new peace pan. 
   Speaking to reporters on Jan. 23, Trump said he would unveil the long-awaited plan for Middle East peace, before Netanyahu and Gants visit Washington.
   He had postponed the announcement of the deal several times in the past. However, the economic part of the deal was unveiled last June in a U.S. lead conference in Bahrain, which was boycotted by the Palestinians.
   Since the failure of the U.S.-sponsored peace talks between Palestine and Israel in 2014, the Palestinians have been calling for an international multi-lateral mechanism to overlook peace negotiations with Israel.
   Political ties between the Palestinians and the U.S. administration had been severed since Trump declared Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in late 2017, reversing a long-standing U.S. policy regarding the conflict.
   Palestinians want the eastern part of the city of Jerusalem, which was occupied in 1967, as the capital of their future state. Xinhua