PLO: Israel proposed Trump deal to us in 2011

Secretary of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO)’s Executive Committee, Saeb Erekat, announced yesterday that US President Donald Trump’s deal was not new and had been proposed to the Palestinians in 2011 by Israel and was rejected.

Speaking to Al Jazeera , Erekat asserted that the deal aims to “liquidate” the Palestinian national programme.

He stressed that the separation between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank is a “point of weakness” and that this “will end soon”. He also noted that international reconciliation will be achieved soon.

Erekat added: “We will not be part of the farce of the century. We seek real peace based on international legitimacy.”

Meanwhile, he insisted that the Palestinian Authority will never ignore international legitimacy or give up on the two-state solution.

READ: Israel and PA security services cooperate against protests in West Bank 

“We hope that our Arab brothers stick to the Arab Peace Initiative,” he affirmed, noting that Trump is adopting Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu’s apartheid plan.

He added: “The team of Friedman, Kushner and Greenblatt is biblical and these people adopt Netanyahu’s plan. This plan is going to fail.”

Erekat also said that this is the 88th attempt to dissolve the Palestinian cause. He highlighted that such a plan does not solve the conflict, citing US officials who have already condemned Trump’s deal.

Note: The headline and opening paragraph were corrected on 30 January 2020 at 12:12 to show that Israel, not the US, had previously proposed this peace plan in 2011