Palestinians demonstrate & reject Trump’s ‘Deal of Century’

Hundreds of Palestinians have once again expressed their complete rejection of the so-called “Deal of the Century” proposed by US President Donald Trump, demanding Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to stand firm against what they branded as the “Deal of Disgrace.” Palestinians from all walks of life marched through the streets of Ramallah, a major city in the occupied West Bank, on Monday, voicing their support of the Palestinian leadership and stressing that the US so-called deal would defiantly fall apart. The so-called deal, a backchannel plan to allegedly reach a peace settlement between Israel and the Palestinians, was proposed by the US administration late last year. Although the plan has not been released, leaks signal it will consist of the same tried and failed ideas. Palestinians believe that the deal suggests building their own Jerusalem al-Quds from areas surrounding the existing city and forget about the historic place. They also believe that the US-drafted plan calls for keeping borders and security under Israeli control, while it keeps Israeli settlements’ final borders to be discussed in later negotiations. Earlier this month, Secretary General of the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said that Trump’s much touted “the Deal of the Century” aimed to terminate the Palestinian cause. Nasrallah added at the time that Israeli officials have been seeking to change the demographic make-up of Jerusalem al-Quds ever since the Tel Aviv regime was created. Last week, Trump’s senior adviser, Jared Kushner, said details of the proposed deal would be announced soon. A number of top Palestinian officials were also among the demonstrators, including Deputy Head of the Fatah movement Mahmoud al-Alul, member of the movement’s Central Committee Jamal Muheisen and the governor of the Ramallah and al-Bireh district Laila Ghannam. “We do not want your aid, we want a Palestinian state,” said al-Alul during a speech at the rally, addressing Trump. He added the US “is not qualified to lead the peace process”, stressing that Jerusalem al-Quds “is the capital of Palestine.” The protesters were waving the Palestinian flag and carrying pictures of President Abbas, as they chanted slogans denouncing the “ominous deal”, the overwhelming American support for the Israeli occupation. They also chanted slogans in support of Abbas and his “wise” policies, stressing the importance of Palestinian national unity. “You are aware of the price that our people have paid for liberation. Thousands of our people have martyred so far and thousands others are suffering in the Israeli prisons. Our pledge to our martyrs and prisoners is that we will not accept anything less than the liberation of our lands, independence and freedom of our people,” Alul further said during his speech. The US-Palestine ties deteriorated last December, when Washington recognized Jerusalem al-Quds as the “capital” of Israel and announced plans to transfer the embassy from Tel Aviv to the holy city. Israel lays claim to the whole Jerusalem al-Quds, but the international community views the city’s eastern sector as an occupied territory and Palestinians consider it as the capital of their future state. The contentious move led Abbas to formally declare that Palestinians would no longer accept the US as a mediator to resolve the conflict, because Washington was “completely biased” towards Tel Aviv. The US embassy relocation took place on May 14, the eve of the 70th anniversary of the Nakba Day (the Day of Catastrophe), sparking deadly clashes in the Gaza Strip. “The rally is a message to the US administration and the Israeli government that the Palestinian people insist on resolving the conflict in accordance with relevant UN resolutions and refuse to abandon their inalienable rights,” said Dalal Salama, a member of Fatah’s central council, at the rally. Trump has times and again called his yet-to-be-released plan as “The Deal of the Century”, but it is coincidentally the title of a 1983 comedy, which features a bunch of hapless arms dealers, who compete to sell a weapon, called the Peacemaker, to a South American dictator.