Newly-minted Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh described the soon-to-be-unveiled United States peace plan as “born dead,” raising further doubts over the viability of President Donald Trump’s two-years-in-the-making effort to jump-start Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. “There are no partners in Palestine for Trump,” the PA leader said in an interview with the Associated Press, adding that there are likewise “no Arab partners for Trump and…no European partners for Trump.” He went on to label the prospective “deal of the century” as a “financial war” against the Palestinian people. Shtayyeh previously attributed Ramallah’s severe budgetary crisis to the cut-off of hundreds of millions of dollars in American aid to the Palestinians, as well as to Israel’s recent decision to withhold taxes and tariffs collected on behalf of the PA due to its policy of paying monthly stipends to terrorists. As a result, the PA has halved the salaries of tens of thousands of civil servants, limited public services and increased its debt. Palestinian officials will also be convening a donor conference later this month with a view to raising much-needed capital. Shtayyeh’s comments echoed those of PA President Mahmoud Abbas’ spokesperson, who similarly asserted, “as long as Jerusalem is off the table then Trump is off the table as well.” The Washington Post, citing officials close to the Trump Administration, reported Monday that the US proposal would not call for the creation of an independent state but, rather, focus on improving the status quo by earmarking tens of billions of dollars for economic development projects in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The much-hyped and long-delayed initiative is likely to be presented shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu forms a new governing coalition in the wake of his re-election on April 9.