Palestinian leader rejects Trump’s Middle East peace plan: ‘A thousand no’s’

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas vehemently rejected President Trump’s Middle East peace plan after it was unveiled on Tuesday afternoon at the White House.

“After the nonsense that we heard today we say a thousand no’s to the Deal of The Century,” Abbas said at a press conference in the West Bank, The Associated Press reported.

The plan unveiled by the administration would throw Trump’s support behind a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, though it faces skepticism about whether it could take hold.

Trump said that Jerusalem will remain “undivided” under Israeli control. He described the plan as a “win-win opportunity for both sides,” though the Palestinians have advocated for at least partial control of Jerusalem, where several Muslim holy sites are located.

In the plan, which has a four-year implementation period, Israeli settlements in the West Bank would be allowed to stay where they are.

Trump met this week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his chief political opponent, Benny Gantz, to discuss the plan. The president noted Tuesday that both have endorsed the peace plan.

Palestinian officials have cut off communication with the U.S. after it recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in late 2017.

During the announcement at the White House, Trump said he sent a letter to Abbas asking him to support the plan.

“President Abbas, I want you to know that if you choose the path to peace, America and many other countries, we will be there, we will be there to help you in so many different ways and we will be there every step of the way, we will be there to help,” Trump said.

In addition to Abbas’s criticism, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Tuesday also tweeted that the plan would be a “nightmare” for the region. 

“The so-called ‘Vision for Peace’ is simply the dream project of a bankruptcy-ridden real estate developer,” Zarif tweeted. “But it is a nightmare for the region and the world.”

The so-called “Vision for Peace” is simply the dream project of a bankruptcy-ridden real estate developer.

But it is a nightmare for the region and the world

And, hopefully, a wake-up call for all the Muslims who have been barking up the wrong tree.#LetsUniteForPalestinians pic.twitter.com/j2CJ9JaH9c

— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) January 28, 2020

Other Palestinian allies, such as Jordan, have also warned against the plan, which would put several Muslim holy sites under Israeli control. 

“We condemn the unilateral Israeli measures and warn of its consequences by directing its guardian,” Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi tweeted. “Jordan devotes all its capabilities to protect the holy sites and their identity.”

الدولة #الفلسطينية وعاصمتها #القدس الشرقية وفق حل الدولتين سبيل السلام
مبادئ المملكة إزاء القضية الفلسطينية ومصالحنا الوطنية تحكم تعامل الحكومة مع كل الطروحات
ندين الإجراءات الإسرائيلية الأحادية ونحذر من تبعاتها
بتوجيه الوصي عليها يكرس الأردن كل إمكاناته لحماية المقدسات وهويتها pic.twitter.com/RHzt667aPM

— Ayman Safadi (@AymanHsafadi) January 28, 2020