The Palestinian Authority said it will not accept “gifts” from the United States, stressing that that no money will change the Palestinian rejection of the so-called “deal of the century” peace proposal.
New Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh accused the US of declaring “financial war” on his people.
“The Palestinian Authority will not surrender to the financial war led by the US, on one hand, and Israel, on the other, to accept the deal of the century,” he noted, calling on states to save the two-state solution instead of issuing many statements.
His position was part of a major campaign launched by the PA against the plan.
The plan aims to liquidate the Palestinian cause, said Nabil Shaath, international relations adviser to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, on Thursday.
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates issued a statement addressed to adviser to US President Donald Trump, Jared Kushner, and his envoy to the peace process, Jason Greenblatt.
“We don’t want Kushner’s Eid al-Fitr gift because it does not offer the Palestinians an independent and sovereign state,” the statement read in reference to the holiday that marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.
It came in response to Kushner’s announcement earlier this week that the administration’s plan for peace in the Middle East will be published after Ramadan, which ends in June.
The ministry said the US administration has implemented the vast majority of the plan’s political part, leaving only some sections unimplemented.
It stressed that declaring Jerusalem as the capital of Israel was the most prominent part of this deal, followed by the relocation of the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to the holy city.
“If these actions and US decisions are not part of the plan, then what are they? Are they preparatory steps for what might be worse? Or is the US administration actually starting to implement the plan gradually without announcing it in advance?” the ministry asked.
It recalled in its statement various US decisions, such as closing the PLO office in Washington, announcing its cut of aid for UNRWA, launching an incitement campaign targeting the UN body and its credibility and declaring that Israel has the right to establish settlements anywhere in occupied territory.
Furthermore, it annexed the US consulate, which was established in Jerusalem in 1844, to the US Embassy in Jerusalem, imposed a financial siege on the PA, cut financial aid to the PA and its development projects, including support to Jerusalem hospitals, and recognized Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights all part of its peace plan, said the statement.
