Palestinians see little in Trump peace plan

AFTER US President Donald Trump’s announcement that he will finally launch his long-awaited Middle East peace plan this week, the response among many Palestinians Friday was a collective shrug.

Trump said the plan, which has been delayed multiple times, would f i nall y be released by Tuesday when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his political rival Benny Gantz meet him in Washington.

But the Palestinian leadership was not invited, amid a series of rows between president Mahmud Abbas and Trump over the US leader’s pro-Israel stance.

In the heart of the West Bank city of Ramallah, where the Palestinian government is based, many people entering a mosque for Friday prayers were not even aware of Trump’s announcement the previous day.

Others said they did not expect anything positive from a president they see as totally biased.

“Trump represents no one but himself, and this is a c r a z y p r e s i d e n t ,” s a i d Munther Abu Awad, clutching a blue prayer mat.

“What he announced is in favour of Israel.”

Hossam Abdul Raheem, 57, said he expected the plan to be announced and then forgotten. “This deal will fail completely,” he predicted.

“Whatever they do will not affect us as we have nothing to lose.”

Du r i n g p r a y e r s , t h e mosque’s sheikh condemned the Trump peace plan, which Palestinians sarcastically label the “deal of the century”.

Nasser Nassar, 57, works as a teacher by day and bus driver by night to pay the bills.

He had little positive to say about the peace push.

“Trump considers himself the president of the world and not only the United States, and the fact is he is working in Israel’s interests.”

But he blamed the Palestinian leadership as much as t he Israel is for t he conditions in t he Palestinia n terr itor ie s, where a rou nd a qua r ter of t he popu lat ion lives in povert y.

“The leadership drove us to a place where we are chasing a living and we forgot all important causes.”

Israel has occupied East Jer u s a lem a nd t he West Bank since the 1967 Si x-Day War.

More than 600,000 Israelis now live there in settlements considered illegal under international law.

Palestinians see east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state and Abbas cut ties with Trump after he recognised the city as Israel’s capital.

The Republican president has ta ken a ser ies of ot her s t eps t hat have t h r i l l e d Net a ny a hu but appa l le d Palestinia ns.

Israeli media reported what they said were leaks of parts of Trump’s plan, including that it could grant full sovereignty to Israel over Jerusalem and West Bank settlements.

In exchange, the Palestinians would get some kind of a demilitarised statehood in the remaining territory.

Trump later tweeted that the reports were merely “speculative” and that the full details would be revealed later.