Palestinian factions ‘unite’ to fight ‘deal of the century’
A highly confidential two-day seminar will be held in Istanbul, beginning Friday, to discuss U.S. President Donald Trump’s as-yet unreleased peace proposal to enable a negotiated end to hostilities between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
Entitled “Palestinians and the-deal-of-the-century,” the seminar, which will be attended by all of the Palestinian factions, is a Turkish-Tunisian-Palestinian initiative organized by the Palestinian Center of Rouya for Political Development, the Tunisian Center of Strategic Studies and the Turkish Center of SITA.
“We will discuss all elements of the ‘Deal-of The Century’ in terms of vision, possibilities and challenges,” Hani al-Masri, the head of the Palestinian Center of Research, who is participating in the seminar tomorrow, told The Media Line.
He explained that it is important to gather together all the Palestinian political parties to discuss the American project.
A source told The Media Line that Musa Abu Marzouk, vice president of Hamas, and senior official Husam Badran would be representing the armed Islamic political party that rules Gaza. Mohammed Shtayyeh, a member of the Palestinian Liberation Organization’s (PLO) Central Committee, and Majed Fityani, secretary of the PLO’s Revolutionary Council, will represent Fatah. Other leaders from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), as well as Palestinian public figures and activists will also be participating.
Islamic Jihad spokesperson in Gaza Dahoud Shihab told The Media Line that Mohammed al-Hendi, a member of its Political Bureau, would be presenting the organization’s vision regarding the American deal.
“We refuse the American deal and consider it a big conspiracy that aims to end the Palestinians’ legitimate rights,” he stated.
He said that Islamic Jihad was very interested in the seminar and its outcomes, as it would be instrumental in building a single Palestinian position in fighting the purported deal, which he claimed was “an unfair deal that doesn’t recognize the Palestinians.”
Hazem Qasem, a Hamas spokesperson in Gaza, stressed that the Islamic organization refused to accept the American decisions regarding Jerusalem and confirmed that Hamas rejected it.
“We recognize the American deal’s intention in forcing a vision that has to do with the loss of our people’s rights,” he declared.
When reached by The Media Line, several Fatah leaders refused to comment on the seminar.
PA President Mahmoud Abbas has imposed a boycott on the American administration and its officials in the wake of Washington’s recognition in December last year of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Since then, the PA has established a diplomatic campaign to lobby key-player countries to participate in a multilateral mechanism to replace the U.S.’s “biased” mediation.
However, officials warned that in this current diplomatic climate Europe could not replace the U.S. as an intermediary because many European capitals were reluctant to assume America’s traditional role as primary peace broker between the two sides. European leaders are wary of ignoring the Trump administration’s demand to oppose the PA’s push to form a new, multilateral mechanism for negotiations.
Nabeel Amro, a former Palestinian minister of information, explained to The Media Line that “the Palestinians want Europeans to be more involved, but we can’t force them.” Amro believes that while “it is right to reject the [prospective] American [peace] plan as it violates Palestinian rights, a boycott on the entire U.S. administration is not helpful. Our relationship with the U.S. should be about dialogue, not boycotts.”
Since December, the PA has repeatedly declared an unwillingness to engage with Trump’s peace envoys, including senior adviser Jared Kushner, U.S. Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt and U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman.
Last week, the American trio penned an op-ed in The Washington Post calling on Hamas to renounce its policy of violent resistance and walk back its refusal to accept Israel’s right to exist. The three envoys also called on the Palestinian people to find a way out of the “hopeless treadmill” of “destruction, violence and human misery.”
“The world is moving forward, but bad choices are causing Palestinians to fall further and further behind,” the envoys stated in the op-ed.