Israeli Media: Americans Lower Expectations of Success of ‘Deal of the Century’

  • 7/1/2018
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Israeli media confirmed that the American officials have lowered their expectations of the success of the so-called "deal of the century" because of the Palestinian boycott. Meanwhile, Palestinian Prime Minister Rami al-Hamdallah said, in an additional message addressed to the United States, that the Palestinian leadership would not compromise the rights and principles of the Palestinian people. “Our people are aware of the position of President Mahmoud Abbas, who is adhering to the original national principles, and we will not accept dropping, canceling or bypassing them at any cost," he stressed. His statements were made a day after demonstrations swept the Palestinian territories in rejection of the US peace plan, also known as the “Deal of the Century.” “The National Campaign to Thwart the Deal of the Century,” which has launched mass protests against the agreement, said Saturday: “Our rebellious people, who have thwarted all other suspicious projects, will end the deal of the century.” The US has not yet published its plan, but the PA refuses to listen to it in advance because of the US declaration of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and the transfer of the US embassy to the city. The PA also accuses the United States of removing the Jerusalem and refugee files from the negotiating table and turning the issue into a humanitarian one. Spokesman for the PA presidency Nabil Abu Rudeineh, for his part, said that the Americans have turned the deal into a humanitarian one in Gaza and “the Palestinians will not deal with it.” Due to this continued boycott, the Americans have lowered their expectations of the success of this deal. In this context, Israel Hayom newspaper said that Senior Adviser to the US President Jared Kushner and Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt have announced at the end of their tour in the region last week that the likelihood of a successful rollout of the US upcoming Mideast peace plan are very low. The newspaper said that the main reason behind the pessimistic outlook is the Palestinians’ ongoing boycott of the US administration in the wake of its Jerusalem move. Israel Hayom also pointed out that Kushner and Greenblatt have said in private conversations that they are planning to revise the plan in light of their recent visit. A significant part of the plan will focus on economic development within the PA, the newspaper said, explaining that it will not be limited to political affairs. It revealed another difficulty encountered by Trump’s team in the region, which is the refusal of some Arab leaders to bypass the Palestinians. “Jordans King Abdullah II was particularly against such a move and expressed this during his visit to the White House this week. Abdullah reportedly said that unveiling the plan without coordinating with the Palestinians would be a catastrophe,” it said. Haaretz, on the other hand, stressed that representatives of Arab countries warned members of the US delegation to the Mideast of the ramifications of detailing the plan. The Arab officials cited the fact that their countries are dealing with internal challenges in a landscape marked by Syrias war and Iranian interference, the newspaper reported. Thus, the Arab officials told US envoys that any plan, which does not meet Palestinian expectations, could just increase tensions in the Middle East.

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