The Palestinian Authority (PA) “foreign ministry” said on Thursday that the US administration is delusional in its belief that the Palestinians' consent to sell their homeland can be bought with money.
In a statement, the PA bureau said that the American administration had gradually begun to implement the “Deal of the Century”, as the Trump administration’s plan for resolving the conflict has come to be known, without declaring it.
It further claimed that the American declarations about providing economic aid to the Palestinians on the occasion of the month of Ramadan were a false move intended to influence the Palestinians to agree to the “Deal of the Century”.
According to the PA bureau for foreign affairs, President Donald Trump's team of advisors coordinated the details of the “Deal of the Century” with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, contradicting the statements in Washington that no one has been updated on the details of the plan.
The PA bureau also believes that the US administration will soon announce recognition of the annexation of the so-called settlement blocs to Israel and will encourage the establishment of a separate Palestinian entity in Gaza.
The PA, which has been boycotting the US ever since President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in December of 2017, has rejected the US peace plan before it has even been unveiled.
On Tuesday, new PA cabinet leader Mohammad Shtayyeh said in an interview that the Trump administration’s peace plan will be “born dead”.
"There are no partners in Palestine for Trump. There are no Arab partners for Trump and there are no European partners for Trump,” Shtayyeh told The Associated Press.
US envoy Jason Greenblatt, one of the architects of the yet unpublished Trump peace plan, later criticized Shtayyeh over his comments.
“Why does the new PA Prime Minister hope for our plan to be ‘born dead’ and for peace to fail? By working with us, perhaps something wonderful can happen for Palestinians. We've repeatedly said this won't just be an economic plan,” Greenblatt tweeted.
“PM Shtayyeh, starting a new job by condemning a plan you haven’t seen is unfair to Palestinians. You have an obligation to first look at an opportunity before you dismiss it. The PA can continue to push us away, but that will do nothing to improve the lives of the Palestinians,” he added in a second tweet.
