Hanan Ashrawi, the veteran political activist and executive committee member of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) called Jared Kushner’s “deal of the century” a “fictitious economic plan.”
Via video conference Tuesday at the Arab Center in Washington, D.C., Ashrawi questioned the Trump administration’s proposals for Middle East peace plan.
The PLO and PFLP will take part in a conference to discuss their future in Beirut at the same time as the widely rejected Bahrain conference. Hamas have been mysteriously left out of the equation.https://t.co/cjZqgayYOZ
— The New Arab (@The_NewArab) June 13, 2019
She questioned the so-called “deal of the century” whose release date has been repeatedly postponed.
Ashrawi said:
“So far, the only thing we have seen of this deal are the concrete steps that the U.S. took that are prejudicial and illegal and in full, blind support for the most extreme elements of Israel, and (its) sort of fictitious economic plan.”
Palestinians are already living under effects of Trump’s policies in the region, which includes cutting off aid to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), closing the PLO office in Washington, and transferring the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, the activist said.
After the US:
-ended aid to Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA
-moved its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem
-recognized the Syrian Golan Heights as Israeli
-closed the PLO office in DC…why would any Palestinian trust Kushner's 'Deal of the Century'? https://t.co/86dUSj4JMv
— CODEPINK (@codepink) June 3, 2019
A leaked draft of the deal was published in early May that calls for the creation of “New Palestine.” This ‘New Palestine’ will not be allowed an army, will require Palestine and Israel to share Jerusalem as a capital, and all illegal settlements in the West Bank will become a part of Israel.
Palestinian leaders have repeatedly rejected the deal saying it favors Israel. They are boycotting the U.S.-led conference in Bahrain later this month where the White House will unveil the first part of the plan.
Palestinians set to boycott U.S. conference on Mideast peace in Bahrain https://t.co/py16BswXkY
— Haaretz.com (@haaretzcom) May 20, 2019
According to the U.S., the “economic workshop” at the conference will bring together government officials and business leaders from Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, as well as some national finance ministers. The conference is organized to encourage investment in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Palestinian leaders have encouraged other nation to not take part in the summit, to which Kushner accused the PLO of depriving Palestinians of opportunities for new investments and economic benefits.
(TeleSur, PC, Social Media)
