The Communist Party of Israel (CPI) unequivocally rejects the imminent US publishing of details of US President Donald Trump’s imperialistic Middle East plan, dubbed the “Deal of the Century,” prior to a visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his challenger in the forthcoming election, MK Benny Gantz, to the White House on Monday, January 27. The CPI contends that publishing of the plan now would likely lead to the rapid reinstatement of military rule and occupation over the Palestinian people for generations.
Following the announcement by Trump on Thursday, January 23, that he intends to release the details of his “Deal” before next Monday’s meeting with Netanyahu and Gantz, Israeli media reported that according to preliminary plans, Israel would claim sovereignty over the Jordan Valley and immediately annex of all but 15 illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, as well as the land linking them. Jerusalem would be declared the capital of Israel, while the creation of a “demilitarized Palestinian state” would be agreed upon at a later time.
Palestinians demonstrate in Ramallah in late June 2019 during the then ongoing “Peace to Prosperity” workshop, initiated by the Trump administration, taking place in Bahrain. The slogan in Arabic at the top of the banners reads: “Down with the Deal of the Century.. Down with the Bahrain Workshop.” (Photo: Activestills)
The CPI observed that “The true ‘Deal of the Century’ is a prime minister accused of corruption and a president under an impeachment trial attempting to save each other through a dangerous political maneuver that will set military rule over the Palestinian people in the occupied territories for generations.” The CPI reiterated its consistent and well-known position that “Only recognition of a Palestinian state, its people and its borders, and the end of the occupation is a long-overdue international obligation and a positive step towards peace. All states must now formally recognize a sustainable Palestinian state being established contiguous with the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, demanding the end of the settlements policy and a just resolution of the Palestinian refugee question.”
The Palestinian leadership has repeatedly boycotted any participation in the Trump administration’s Middle East plan, refusing to meet with US officials about the deal, which it has slammed as impossibly biased. As such, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas warned that the US’s releasing of such a plan would result in the dissolution of the Palestinian government, requiring Israel “to assume its full responsibilities as an occupying power,” in other words re-establishing the military regime that was abrogated with the Oslo Accords.
Nabil Abu Rudeinah, spokesman for President Abbas, amidst reports of an impending announcement by the US administration on implementing the “Deal of the Century,” said on Thursday evening that the Palestinian leadership will reject any steps by the United States that would breach international law. “If this deal is announced according to these rejected formulas, the leadership will announce a series of measures in which we safeguard our legitimate rights, and we will demand Israel to assume its full responsibilities as an occupying power,” he said. Abu Rudeinah reiterated Palestinian position calling for ending the Israeli occupation of the West Bank controlled by Israel since 1967 and establishing an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. President Abbas’s spokesman concluded, “We warn Israel and the American administration against crossing the red lines.”
Hadash MK Ayman Odeh, leader of Joint List, flatly rejected details of the plan about to be released emphasizing the motives behind the timing: “A prime minister that is charged with corruption and a president that is in the midst of an impeachment trial are trying to save one another while carrying out a dangerous political move that would subject the Palestinian people living in the [occupied territories] to Israeli military control for years to come.”\
Related: Posts on the “Deal of the Century”
