Hamas leader:

Palestinians will not forgive those who accept US plan

Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the Hamas political bureau, has called on the heads of Muslim and Arab states to “categorically reject” US President Donald Trump’s Middle East scheme.

News ID: 448760

Date: 31 January 2020 - 12:37

RNA - In a letter to the heads of the Islamic states, Haniyeh warned that the Palestinian people “will never forgive any kind of participation or support” for Trump's "Deal of the Century".

The letter were sent to Arab League chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit, head of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Yusuf bin Ahmed al-Uthaymeen and head of the African Union Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat,

The Palestinian leader raised alarms against “the danger of leniency in endorsing such an ill-fated deal, or participating in its implementation”.

He said any backing for the Trump plan will be considered an “irremovable stain and could indeed amount to committing a historical sin against Palestinian nation”.

Haniyeh also stressed the total rejection or invalidity of all the provisions of the deal, which detracts from the historical and legitimate rights of the Palestinian people and national constants.

He stressed the need “to take a firm stand against the scandalous bias practiced by the US administration in favor of Zionist settlers and occupation schemes against the land and the holy sanctuaries".

Separately, Haniyeh said he had contacted Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas "in order to unify the Palestinian ranks in the face of this aggressive deal.".

"We discussed with him agreement on joint action to address this disastrous announcement," he said.

"All options have become legitimate for our Palestinian people and their forces in the face of the decisions of this aggressive and unfair deal which targets the Palestinian presence, land, people, history and identity," Haniyeh added.

Trump released his proposed deal during an event at the White House alongside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington on Tuesday.

The so-called 'Vision for Peace' — which all Palestinian groups have unanimously rejected — would, among other contentious terms, enshrine Jerusalem al-Quds as “Israel’s undivided capital” and allow the regime to annex settlements in the occupied West Bank and the Jordan Valley.

Within just hours since its launch, Trump’s proposed deal has aroused a storm of indignation and opposition among Middle East people and politicians as well as international organizations.

The plan has been described such as the treason of the century, nightmare, conspiracy, catastrophe, new Balfour Declaration, an annexation plan, a stillborn agreement, a handbook for more suffering, and a deal for the garbage can of history among others.

Contrary to Trump’s claim who sought to sell his proposal as a win-win opportunity for both sides, political leaders and activists view it as being hugely skewed in favor of Israel.

the plan totally ignores the rights and demands of up to 15 million Palestinians around the world, leaving them out of a process that is expected to decide their fate and their future.

Opponents argue that the highly pro-Israel scheme offers no prescription for peace because it blatantly violates international law.

It strips Palestinians of their basic rights on a number of sensitive issues, including the state of Jerusalem al-Quds, the future borders of a sovereign Palestinian state, the return of Palestinian refugees driven from their homeland, security responsibility, as well as Israeli settlements built on occupied land.

Amnesty International has criticized the proposal as “a handbook for more suffering and abuses” in the occupied territories, urging the global community to reject measures set out in the deal in contravention of international law.

Philip Luther, Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa research and advocacy director, has said that the US scheme seeks to undermine international justice after the International Criminal Court (ICC)’s decision last month to launch a full investigation into war crimes in the Palestinian territories.

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