New Palestinian PM says US peace deal will be ‘born dead’
The new Palestinian prime minister said the peace deal to be released by US President Donald Trump will be “born dead”, restating Ramallah’s rejection of the plan before it is announced.
The US sent congratulations to Mohammed Shtayyeh and the new Palestinian government that was sworn in at the weekend, but this did not change matters in Ramallah, where officials still refuse to engage with their American counterparts.
“There are no partners in Palestine for Trump,” Mr Shtayyeh told the Associated Press in his first interview with the international media. “There are no Arab partners for Trump and there are no European partners for Trump.”
He also condemned financial measures imposed on the Palestinian Authority. The US cut millions in funding for the Palestinians, and Israel is refusing to hand over millions in collected taxes.
“Israel is part of the financial war that has been declared upon us by the United States. The whole system is to try to push us to surrender”, Mr Shtayyeh said. “This is financial blackmail, which we reject.”
Without its main sources of revenue, the Palestinian Authority has begun paying only half salaries to tens of thousands of its civil servants. It has also reduced services and increased borrowing.
In a new report yesterday, the World Bank said the Palestinian deficit will grow from $400 million last year to more than $1 billion (Dh3.67bn) this year.
Mr Shtayyeh said he had imposed spending cuts by reducing perks for his Cabinet ministers.
He said he would seek to develop the Palestinian agricultural, economic and education sectors and find ways to reduce the Palestinian economy’s dependence on Israel.
He proposed importing fuel from Jordan instead of from Israel, and even floated the idea of a Palestinian currency.
He also said Palestinians would seek financial backing from Arab and European donors.
Despite tensions with Israel and the US, Mr Shtayyeh said the Palestinians remained committed to the establishment of an independent state on areas captured by Israel in the 1967 war.
That includes establishing a capital in occupied East Jerusalem, which Israel has annexed and claims as part of its “eternal capital”.
The two-state solution has enjoyed overwhelming international support for the past two decades, but statements by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his hardline political allies appear to reject Palestinian independence.