Hamas officials meet Venezuelan ambassador in Lebanon

A Hamas delegation yesterday met the Venezuelan ambassador to Lebanon Jesus Gregorio, in the capital city of Beirut.

The delegation was led by Hamas’ representative in Lebanon Ahmed Abdel Hadi, who was accompanied by the movement’s Palestinian relations official, Mashhour Abdel Halim, and the media officer, Abdel Majid Al-Awad.

The meeting discussed the latest developments on the Palestinian issue, including the United States (US)’s peace plan in the Middle East, as well as the recent Israeli aggression in the besieged Gaza Strip.

Criticising the so-called Deal of the Century, he said that the deal was a “conspiracy against the Palestinian people.”

On 28 January, the US President Donald Trump announced his Middle East plan which would set up a Palestinian state with strict conditions but allow Israel to take over long-contested Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank. The plan was announced in a joint press conference in Washington in the presence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with no Palestinians present.

Read: Hamas denies reports of meeting with Israel leaders

The United Nations (UN) rejected the deal, saying it is not based on UN guidelines but is an imposition of Trump’s own vision of a two-state solution. The deal was also rejected by all Palestinian parties. It was also rejected by the League of Arab States, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the African Union, and many other countries, including Turkey.

The official called on the Palestinians “to resist the occupation’s ongoing aggression,” stressing that the “Palestinian unity is the only way to thwart and end the US deal.”

On the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, Abdel Hadi called on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) “to draw up an urgent emergency plan for the Palestinians who have been suffering since the start of the Lebanese economic crisis.”

On his part, Gregorio condemned the recent Israeli aggression on Gaza, stressing that his country’s was supporting the Palestinian cause. He demanded the international community “to strengthen the global efforts into resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.”