Editorial Note: The following news reports are summaries from original sources. They may also include corrections of Arabic names and political terminology. Comments are in parentheses. Share the link of this article with your facebook friends

President Mahmoud Abbas

 Rejects the Trump-Netanyahu "Deal of the Century,"

Saying that

Jerusalem and the Palestinian Rights

Are Not for Sale

January 28, 2020 

Editor's Note:

While brutal force has been used to create Zionist Israel and sustain it thus far, Zionist claims to Palestine are false. Actually, from the five thousand years of known written history, there has been a continuous Palestinian-Canaanite presence in the Holy Land. Despite the Zionist false claims, the ancient Israelites ruled part of the land for only 85 years (during the reign of David, Solomon, and Solomon's son).

 After that, the Egyptians conquered Palestine-Canaan in 925 BC, followed by Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, and Romans, before the Arab Muslim rule, starting from 636 AD.

By the Time Jesus started his mission, the three population groups of Canaanites, Palestinians, and Israelites were melted together in religion and language. Most of them became Christians when Constantine converted in 313 AD. Then, most of them became Muslims in the 7th and 8th centuries AD.

So, Palestinian Muslims, Christians, and Jews are the ones who have the right to claim descent from ancient Israelites, Palestinians, and Canaanites, not Zionists from other continents.

The following news stories are just examples of the Israeli occupation government violations of Palestinian human rights, on daily basis.

More detailed news stories can be found at the following sources:

http://english.wafa.ps/, https://english.palinfo.com/, https://imemc.org/, https://paltoday.ps/ar/

 

Palestinian leaders: Saeb Erikat, Mahmoud Abbas, and Muhammed Ishtiyeh, January 28, 2020	Palestinians in Gaza protesting the Trump-Netanyahu plan to annex more lands in the West Bank, called deal of the century, January 29, 2020

Israeli theft of Palestinian lands countinues with more US support!	The "Deal of the Century": More Palestinian lands annexed to the Israeli apartheid fascist regime, as a gift recommended by Cushner, given by Trump, to Netanyhu before elections. The so-called deal was rejectly out right by all Palestinian political parties and organizations.

Deal of the Century:

Finally, President Trump announced his plan for peace between Israelis and Palestinians, so-called "Deal of the Century," in which he gave the Palestinian capital of Jerusalem to Israel, in addition to the annexation of major parts of the West Bank to the apartheid Israeli regime. Here's the plan, on the White House website:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Peace-to-Prosperity-0120.pdf

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President Abbas: We will start measures to change the function of the Palestinian Authority

RAMALLAH, Tuesday, January 28, 2020 (WAFA) –

President Mahmoud Abbas, speaking tonight following the revelation of the American so-called deal of the century, rejected the American plan and said the leadership will start immediate measures to change the functional role of the Palestinian Authority as called for by the Palestine Liberation Organization’s {PLO} Central Council.

President Abbas chaired tonight a leadership meeting called for to discuss Palestinian response to the American plan revealed by US President Donald Trump in the presence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The emergency meeting was attended by representatives of all Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

The President stressed that Jerusalem and the Palestinian rights are not for sale after Trump said that the Palestinians will get $50 billion in investments to develop their country and economy.

He warned that the American plan, describing it as the “smack of the century”, aims to liquidate the Palestinian issue and therefore it will not be acceptable and rather it will be returned as many smacks in the future.

He stressed that the Palestinian strategy is based on continuing the struggle to end the Israeli occupation until independence and the establishment of the Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The President said that he is committed to holding legislative and presidential elections in the West Bank, Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, stressing that Jerusalem’s Palestinian residents should take part in the elections.

He also said that there will be a new phase of Palestinian dialogue and joint work.

M.K.

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Thousands Protest in Gaza to Challenge Trump-Kushner Annexation Plan

January 29, 2020 4:26 AM IMEMC News

As Donald Trump faced day eight of his trial for abuse of power in the US Senate, he and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu unveiled their ‘Deal of the Century’ in which Israel will essentially annex Palestine and push Palestinians into tiny reservations. Protests immediately broke out in Gaza and the West Bank.

Under the Trump-Kushner plan, the Israeli military will continue to control the entire territory, Israel would annex the land in the West Bank it had settled illegally by military force, and Palestinians in Jerusalem would be further disenfranchised. No Palestinian leaders were consulted in the creation of this plan.

Netanyahu, who is himself facing charges of corruption, applauded the Trump-Kushner plan, which provides for Israel to take over stolen Palestinian land in direct violation of international law.

Thousands of Palestinians protested the plan, chanting “Not for sale”. The Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said that the Palestinian leadership rejects the plan.

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US Democrats Denounce Trump-Kushner Plan as “Legitimizing Theft” January 29, 2020 4:12 AM IMEMC & Agencies International, International Politics, Israel, News Report, Palestine, Peace process 0 From Middle East Eye: As Donald Trump hailed his so-called “deal of the century” as a historic opportunity to achieve peace between Palestinians and Israel, Democratic members of congress poured scorn on the plan that has been rejected by Palestinians. The proposal, which was drafted without the input of any Palestinian groups, allows Israel to keep all of its settlements in the West Bank and annex large parts of the Palestinian territories that it currently occupies. While Trump has floated his proposal as a “realistic two-state solution”, the plan itself says a Palestinian state – if it materialises – will be demilitarised and without sovereignty over its air space and territorial waters. In a wave of criticism, many members of Congress denounced the plan as a unilateral attempt to end the chances of real Palestinian statehood. ‘This political stunt gets us no closer to peace or justice’ – Rashida Tlaib Senator Bernie Sanders, who is running for president, said Washington must ensure a just agreement between Israelis and Palestinians. “Any acceptable peace deal must be consistent with international law and multiple UN resolutions,” Sanders said. “It must end the Israeli occupation and enable Palestinian self-determination in an independent state of their own alongside a secure Israel. Trump’s so-called ‘peace deal’ doesn’t come close, and will only perpetuate the conflict. It is unacceptable.” Sanders’ fellow presidential candidate, progressive Senator Elizabeth Warren was also quick to denounce the proposed deal. “Trump’s ‘peace plan’ is a rubber stamp for annexation and offers no chance for a real Palestinian state,” she said. “Releasing a plan without negotiating with Palestinians isn’t diplomacy, it’s a sham. I will oppose unilateral annexation in any form – and reverse any policy that supports it.” ‘Non-starter’ Senator Chris Van Hollen, a prominent Democrat, called the scheme an “anti-peace” plan. REVEALED: Trump’s ‘deal of the century’ map for a future Palestine, Israel Read More » “This one-sided proposal is a cynical maneuver calculated to be rejected by the Palestinians and then green-light illegal annexation,” Van Hollen wrote in a series of tweets. “It undermines decades of bipartisan US policy and international law. Far from the ‘deal of the century’ this is the ‘disaster of the decade’.” Chris Murphy, a Senate Democrat and a vocal critic of Trump’s foreign policy, also slammed the deal, saying that it compromises the long term security of both the US and Israel. “The unilateral annexation of the Jordan River valley and existing settlements, deemed illegal under US and international law, will set back the peace process decades,” he said. “And it risks real violence and massive destabilization inside places like Jordan.” Several Democrats in the House of Representatives also rejected the so-called “deal of the century”. Mark Pocan, the co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said the plan was a “massive step backwards”. Rep. Mark Pocan @repmarkpocan Once again, there is no peace plan without Palestinian input. This “plan” greenlights the permanent annexation of illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank & takes no steps towards securing peace in the region. This is not a two-state solution—it’s a massive step backwards. https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/1222218014688468992 … The New York Times @nytimes Breaking News: President Trump released his Middle East peace plan, giving Israel most of what it wants and requiring concessions Palestinians will likely reject https://nyti.ms/37BHjdz  547 10:35 AM – Jan 28, 2020 Twitter Ads info and privacy 232 people are talking about this Pramila Jaypal, the other co-chair of the progressive caucus, rejected labelling the proposal as a peace plan. “It is absurd to call Trump’s plan a ‘peace plan’ when Palestinian voices were barred from the discussion,” she said. “Today’s announcement is further evidence of President Trump’s desire to support Netanyahu’s racist policies over basic human rights for Palestinians.” For her part, Representative Ilhan Omar said the proposal was “shameful and disingenuous”. “This is not a peace plan,” she wrote on Twitter. “It is theft. It is erasure.” Palestinian-American Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib noted that the deal was released on the day that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was formally indicted on corruption charges. “This political stunt gets us no closer to peace or justice,” Tlaib said. “As a member of Congress, I consider it a non-starter.” Congressman Andy Levin, a Michigan Democrat, challenged Trump’s assertion that the proposal will lead to a two-state solution. Rep. Andy Levin @RepAndyLevin Don’t be fooled. What @realDonaldTrump is proposing is a “two-state solution” in name only, not lasting peace that will protect Israel’s future as a democratic homeland for the Jewish people or fulfill Palestinians’ aspirations for self-determination. 57 9:48 AM – Jan 28, 2020 Twitter Ads info and privacy Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, who represents a large Arab-American community around Detroit, said the plan “aggravates issues in the region” and fails to ensure a viable state for Palestinians. “This proposal holds the potential to further the conflict and occupation and is not an earnest attempt at peace in the region,” Dingell said in a statement.

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Shu’fat (Not Jerusalem) Revealed as Capital of Future Palestinian State under US Plan

January 27, 2020 5:21 PM IMEMC News & Agencies

The forthcoming US Middle East peace plan, known as the “Deal of the Century,” includes a transition period of four years, as the US administration believes that Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian president will refuse the plan but his successor may accept it, Hebrew media reported, according to Al Ray.

The “deal” proposes the establishment of a demilitarized Palestinian state on 70% of occupied West Bank, with Shu’fat town, northeast of Jerusalem, as its capital.

According to details published, the plan allows Israel to annex 30% to 40% of Area C, while Palestinians will have control over about 40% of Areas A and B. This leaves the status of the remaining 30% of Area C unclear.

Under the Oslo Accords, the occupied West Bank is divided to three areas, A, B, and C. Area A constitutes 18% of the West Bank that is under Palestinian Authority control, and B area constitutes 21% of the West Bank which is under Palestinian administrative control and Israeli security control.

With Area C constituting 61% of the occupied West Bank and being under both Israeli administrative and security control, this means any Palestinian projects or measures will need Israeli approval.

During the transition period, Israel would be able to build in areas where settlements already exist, but will not be able to expand beyond its current borders. It will also ban the approval of new urban development plans for the expansion of industrial areas in the West Bank.

Palestinians will be able to declare an independent state, but with limited powers. It will be completely demilitarized, it will have no control over its aerial space or border crossings and will not be allowed to form alliances with other countries.

The plan suggests the construction of a tunnel connecting the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, which will reportedly serve as a safe passage for Palestinians.

The site reported that this is a very sensitive issue which has not yet been examined by Israeli security authorities who will certainly have their reservations in ensuring that the tunnel will not be used to transfer weapons or individuals wanted for crimes against Israel

The plan demands that the Palestinian Authority will regain full control over Gaza Strip and demilitarize the factions within it.

The deal leaves 15 settlements in small, isolated enclaves of Israeli sovereignty and settlers fear that they will have to evacuate their homes, at some point.

According to the deal, Jerusalem will remain entirely under Israeli sovereignty, including the Noble Sanctuary and other holy places that will be under the joint supervision of both Israelis and Palestinians.

The deal states that everything beyond the separation fence in Jerusalem will be transferred to the Palestinians, provided they accept the plan’s full outline.

Palestinians would not be able to annex territories unilaterally, like Israel in Area C.

The program also offers $50 billion in funding for projects in territories designated for the Palestinian state.

Sources close to the White House claim that the Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammad bin Salman, and the other princes of the Persian Gulf countries have promised the US administration to donate money, in an effort to prevent the Palestinians from sabotaging the plan behind the scenes.

Palestinian officials have threatened to stop security coordination if Israel applies sovereignty over all of its settlements.

PA Threatens to Give up Oslo Accords over US “Deal of Century”

January 27, 2020 4:55 PM IMEMC News & Agencies

A high-ranking Palestinian official has threatened that the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority would withdraw from key provisions of the Oslo Accords in the case that US President Donald Trump unveils his so-called “Deal of the Century” to the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Secretary-General of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Saeb Erekat said, on Sunday, that his organization reserves the right “to withdraw from the interim agreement” if Trump announces his plan.

Erekat added that the Trump initiative will turn Israel’s “temporary occupation (of Palestinian territories) into a permanent occupation.”

The Oslo Accords — consisting of Oslo I and Oslo II accords — were signed by late PLO chairman Yasser Arafat and former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, respectively in Washington DC, in 1993, and Taba, Egypt, in 1995. The purported goal of the accords was to achieve peace based on the United Nations Security Council resolutions 242 and 338 and to realize the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.

The Palestinian foreign ministry issued a statement on Sunday, saying: “The US administration will not find a single Palestinian who supports this project,” and adding that “Trump’s plan is the plot of the century to liquidate the Palestinian cause.”

According to the statement, the Palestinian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Riad al-Malki, said that the Palestinian leadership is discussing practical steps with Arab countries to respond to the US plan at all levels.

According to WAFA news agency, the statement followed a meeting in Ramallah with Egyptian Ambassador to Palestine, Essam El-Din Ashour, in which the two sides discussed diplomatic moves to face the US administration’s decision to release the plan.

Malki stressed the unwavering position of Palestinian leadership in its rejection of the US administration’s decisions on Jerusalem al-Quds and the so-called “Deal of the Century.”

The Palestinian minister also lauded the international consensus on rejection of the US plan.

Meanwhile, Fateh movement also expressed its concerns over the increasing likelihood that the deal will be announced without consulting Palestinian leadership.

Fateh spokesman Jamal Nazzal said, on Sunday, that the plan will fail to address Palestinian aspirations for independence and self-determination within a sovereign state of their own.

He underscored that no Palestinian representative has been part of any negotiations with the US administration, with regard to Trump’s plan, saying the Fateh movement will not support any initiative that excludes Jerusalem al-Quds as the capital of an independent Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders.

“If the plan, as indicated in preliminary reports, recognizes Jerusalem al-Quds as the capital of Israel then our movement will strongly oppose it,” Nazzal highlighted.

He then criticized “the disrespectful attitude of the Trump administration” towards the core issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, such as the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.

Nazzal also slammed the US administration’s initiatives, stating that such efforts only deepen the conflict and make it harder to resolve.

The senior Fateh official finally called on the international community, particularly the European Union, to immediately recognize the Palestinian state, with Jerusalem al-Quds as its capital, within the borders of 1967.

In a related development, the head of the Political Bureau of the Palestinian resistance movement, Hamas, emphasized strong opposition of the movement to the US plan.

“We clearly declare our opposition to the ‘Deal of the Century,’ which is only a plot,” Ismail Haniyeh was quoted by al-Mayadeen News Network as saying.

“We firmly declare that the ‘Deal of the Century’ will not pass. The new plot aimed against Palestine is bound to fail,” and could lead the Palestinians to a “new phase in their struggle” against Israel, Haniyeh said, in a statement.

He also announced his movement’s readiness to cooperate with the Fateh and other Palestinian groups to depict a road map for defending Jerusalem al-Quds and to vociferously denounce the so-called “peace plan.” to make sure that the new colonial plot against Palestinians will never succeed.

Trump is expected to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his main political rival Benny Gantz at the White House, on January 28, to unveil the plan.

Even though the full plan has not been released, Israeli media outlets have described it as a deal that meets nearly all of the Tel Aviv regime’s demands in exchange for the possibility of maybe, someday recognizing a Palestinian state.

“Peace has nothing to do with it,” said Haaretz journalist Amir Tibon.

According to the English-language online newspaper Times of Israel, the deal drastically undermines Palestinian hopes for restoring land seized by Israeli settlements and allows Israel to expand its territory even further.

The US plan on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has already been unanimously rejected by all Palestinian factions, PNN reports.

Trump's Mideast peace plan skews heavily toward Israel, with few concessions to Palestinians

By Tracy Wilkinson and Noga Tarnopolsky,

 Los Angeles Times, January 28, 2020

WASHINGTON —

President Donald Trump on Tuesday presented his long-promised plan to address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, giving Israel virtually everything it wanted, including control over an undivided Jerusalem, no right of return for Palestinian refugees, full sovereignty over the Jordan River valley and no evacuations of any Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

Palestinians, under the plan, would receive up to $50 billion in financial investments and the promise eventually receiving sovereignty in a demilitarized state, surrounded by Israeli territory and broken up into non-contiguous parcels in the West Bank and Gaza.

Speaking to a heavily pro-Israeli audience at the White House, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump vowed unrelenting support for Israel while urging Palestinians to accept what “may be the last opportunity” to build an independent state.

Palestinian representatives said they were not invited to Tuesday’s White House ceremony and were not consulted in the plan. They have declared it dead on arrival, noting it consists largely of ideas they have rejected repeatedly in the past.

Describing what he said was an 80-page document drafted over nearly three years, Trump said the plan gave Palestinians four years to meet a list of demands that would then qualify them to negotiate a state. Some of the demands, such as reining in the Hamas group that controls the Gaza Strip and ending payments to the families of militants slain by Israelis, have either been rejected by the Palestinian Authority in its past or are beyond its capability.

During that four-year period, Trump said, the expansion of Israeli settlements, which has turned the West Bank into something akin to Swiss cheese and far from a contiguous state, would be suspended in those areas that the plan envisions would one day become part of a Palestinian state. But no settlements would be evacuated, and presumably settlements in areas not envisioned by the plan to become part of Palestine could continue to expand.

Trump said the U.S. would recognize a Palestinian capital in “Eastern Jerusalem,” something the Palestinians have long desired. But he also said Israel would be guaranteed permanent control over its “undivided capital” in Jerusalem. The two seem irreconcilable.

Hours before Trump was unveiled his plan, Netanyahu suffered a major political setback when prosecutors in his own country proceeded with a three-count indictment against him for alleged bribery, fraud and the coercing of favorable coverage from Israeli media outlets.

Netanyahu, like Trump, had hoped the announcement of a long-stalled U.S. plan to ease the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would give political boosts to both embattled leaders. The two close allies are mired in legal troubles: Netanyahu’s looming corruption trial and Trump’s impeachment trial for abuse of power.

Netanyahu has dismissed the case against him as politically motivated.

“This is in line with the persecution campaign that the ‘Anything but Bibi’ camp has waged,” Netanyahu wrote on his Facebook page, using his common nickname. “In due time, we will demolish the disproportionate charges contained in the empty accusations filed in my case.”

Also like Trump, Netanyahu has referred to the legal charges against him as an attempted “coup,” and scolded his nation’s judicial authorities for putting “cheap politicking” above “the gravity of the hour” and a “decisive moment” in Israeli history.

But despite efforts by both Trump and Netanyahu to portray Tuesday’s announcement as “historic,” most experts see the plan as a political stunt that will merely repackage old, failed ideas to resolve the conflict. And they predict it will swiftly fail due to the lack of any Palestinian participation or support.

At the same time, Trump sought to downplay expectations of what he once called “the ultimate deal,” saying Monday the plan was “a suggestion” that he hoped Palestinians would eventually come to accept.

The Trump administration, in nearly three years of talks led by Trump’s son-in-law and senior advisor Jared Kushner, did not consult with Palestinians in drafting the document.

Palestinian leadership boycotted any dealings with the Trump administration after a series of pro-Israeli steps, including recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel — Palestinians also claim the city as their capital in an eventual independent state — and of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, a fertile plateau captured from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War.

Trump also cut off much U.S. aid to Palestinians in a bid to force their leaders to the negotiating table, and abandoned the U.S. commitment to a “two-state solution,” the idea that foresaw an independent Palestinian nation living peacefully alongside Israel.

Trump surprised Israelis last week when he abruptly invited Netanyahu and his chief political rival, Benny Gantz, to the White House this week to share the peace plan.

Netanyahu and Gantz, a former army commander who heads a centrist political party, faced each other in elections twice last year, both resulting in a virtual tie and rendering both unable to form a government. A third election attempt is scheduled for early March, an unprecedented era of political chaos in a country where politics are rarely smooth.

“In order to move forward with the ‘deal of the century,’ it is our responsibility to march united under a prime minister who has the public legitimacy to enact it,” Gantz said after his meeting on Monday with Trump and before returning to Israel on Tuesday. “There is reason to fear that a prime minister with three indictments against him will make decisions based on the personal interest of his own political survival.”

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(Los Angeles Times staff writer Wilkinson reported from Washington and special correspondent Tarnopolsky from Jerusalem.)

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/trumps-mideast-peace-plan-skews-heavily-toward-israel-with-few-concessions-to-palestinians/ar-BBZpnx3?ocid=spartandhp

 

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