Hamas and PLO condemn Trump's statements about Jerusalem

The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Hamas condemned today Donald Trump’s statements about the exclusion of Jerusalem from negotiations. The US president said at a campaign rally in West Virginia: “We removed the issue of Jerusalem from the negotiating table.”

Ahmed Tamimi, a member of the PLO’s executive committee and head of human rights and civil society department, condemned Trump’s remarks. He described them as, “a continuation of US biased policy in favour of Israel and of the illusions of the US administration about the possibility of implementing the Deal of the Century without Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian state, in any future settlements.”

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Tamimi added: “We know nothing about the negotiations Trump is talking about. Jerusalem lies in the Palestinian people’s soul and the Arab and Islamic nation’s heart. If Trump could cancel this issue from the negotiating table, he can never remove it from our hearts.

He affirmed the position of the Palestinian leadership, which categorically rejected the “Deal of the Century” and the entire US policy regarding the resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. He stressed that the American administration would not find a single Palestinian who agrees with its plans.

Hamas senior spokesman, Sami Abu Zuhri, stated that Trump’s declarations are insolent and dangerous, and the government should respond by derecognising the Israeli occupation and cancelling the security partnership with Israel, in addition to the severance of security relations and contacts with the US administration.