Palestinian president vows to thwart Trump peace plan
Palestinian hunger striker’s health worsens: Prisoners club
RAMALLAH: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas late on Sunday again vowed to oppose any peace proposal by US President Donald Trump as PLO officials met to consider their next moves.
Speaking at the opening of a rare meeting of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation’s central council, Abbas said Palestinians were facing perhaps the “most dangerous stage” in their history, highlighting a series of controversial measures taken by Trump including recognising occupied Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
Abbas has boycotted Trump’s administration since that December decision, though the US president’s team is still expected to release a peace plan in the coming months.
Abbas compared the expected Trump proposal to the 1917 Balfour Declaration, which saw the British government commit to the creation of a state for Jews in historic Palestine.
“If the Balfour Declaration passed, this deal will not pass,” he pledged.
The US has also cut hundreds of millions of dollars in aid for Palestinians, with Trump angered by Abbas’s refusal to meet with him or members of his administration.
He has called on Abbas to negotiate, but Palestinian leaders say they are being blackmailed to accept Trump’s terms, which they see as blatantly biased in favour of Israel.
“They are still talking about the deal of the era, and that they will present it after a month or two,” Abbas added, saying Trump’s actions amounted to imposing a deal unilaterally. The Palestinian leader also renewed his support for salaries for families of Palestinians killed or jailed by Israel. Palestinians see those jailed or killed WHILE Carrying out Attacks As IGHTING Israel’s ongoing occupation. “The salaries of our martyrs and prisoners are a red line,” Abbas said.
HUNGER STRIKER
In an unrelated development, the condition of a Palestinian prisoner on hunger strike has deteriorated seriously, an advocacy group said.
Khader Adnan “suffers from serious health conditions characterised by severe weight loss, severe wasting and vomiting blood,” the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club said.
Adnan, who has carried out a series of previous hunger strikes in Israeli captivity, was rearrested by Israel in December over his involvement with the Islamic Jihad organisation.
He rejected the accusations and began a hunger strike on September 2, the prisoners’ club said. Adnan is expected to appear in court, it added. There was no immediate response from the Israeli side. In 2012 Adnan went on hunger strike for 66 days in protest against his administrative detention, and in 2015 he again went on strike for 54 days after another arrest.