Palestine will not accept the “deal of the century” with Israel which is in the works in Washington and rejects all of the recent ‘peacemaking’ proposals, the Palestinian ambassador to Russia has said.
Abdelhafiz Nofal, speaking at a press conference in Moscow, has referred to the upcoming peace “deal of the century” advertised by US President Donald Trump, as a “strange agenda.”
He said the Palestinian authorities stand firm in their rejection of all of Israel’s and the US’ recent initiatives ostensibly aimed at promoting peace. Jerusalem, which the US under Trump recognized as the Israeli capital, belongs to all religions and “is not a bargaining chip,” he said.
No specific details of the “deal of the century,” which has been in the making for over two years, have been officially released, but its various reported premises show a string bias in Israel’s favor. One recent report claims the deal envisions enforcing Israeli civil law over its settlements in the occupied West Bank, effectively annexing the territory.
Trump has made his allegiance to Israel abundantly clear by recognizing Jerusalem, which Palestine also claims as its holy city, as the Israeli capital. The move sparked a wave of mass protests across the entire Arab world, including in US-allied countries like Saudi Arabia, and prompted Palestine to reject any role Washington may play in mediating with Israel. Palestinian authorities have rejected all of Washington’s proposals since then.