Iran and the Palestinian resistance movement, Hamas, say a plan devised by the administration of US President Donald Trump targeting the Palestinian nation, dubbed 'the deal of the century', only seeks to meet the interests of the Zionists in the Middle East and aims to establish Israel’s occupationist policies.
The remarks were made in a meeting between Iran's Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi and senior Hamas officials, including deputy head of its political bureau Saleh Al-Arouri, a member of Hamas Political Bureau Hessam Badran, its foreign relations chief Osama Hamdan and its representative in Lebanon Ahmed Abdulhadi, whose report was published on Hamas website on Sunday.
During the meeting, the two sides noted that the policies adopted by the United States leave no doubt that a series of pro-Israeli decisions made by the US president, which started with introducing the occupied East Jerusalem al-Quds as the capital city of Israel and moving Washington’s embassy there, will continue with lending full support to Israel’s settlement construction activities in the West Bank and the occupied part of the Golan Heights.
In December 2017, Trump officially declared the disputed city of Jerusalem al-Quds Israel's "capital," despite warnings from around the world that the measure would risk triggering a fresh wave of violence in the Middle East.
"I have determined that it is time to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel," Trump said, adding, "While previous presidents have made this a major campaign promise, they failed to deliver. Today, I am delivering."
Later in May 2018, the United States officially announced the opening of its new embassy in Jerusalem al-Quds amid deadly Israeli crackdown on peaceful protests by Palestinians in the occupied territories."Today we open the United States embassy in Jerusalem [al-Quds], Israel," US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman said at the beginning of the inaugural ceremony, attended by a US delegation from Washington and officials of the Israeli regime.
Elsewhere in their meeting, the two sides exchanged views about ways to promote relations and emphasized that such meetings should continue to counter challenges and dangers emanating from the US insistence on "the deal of the century," which has been rejected by all Palestinians and regional nations.
The two sides also discussed ways of countering other American and Zionist plots in the region, especially when they pertain to the issue of Palestine.
Palestinian Presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh on June 15 dismissed Trump’s controversial proposal for “peace” between the Israeli regime and Palestinians, stressing that 'the deal of the century' is “stumbling and changing its course.”“
The American conspiracy has stumbled and is changing course. It is due to the Palestinian rejection (of the deal) and the clear position of the president (Mahmoud Abbas) vis-à-vis al-Quds, refugees and the national constants. These issues form the cornerstone of the struggle that forced the conspiracy against the Palestinian people to falter. The Palestinian land is the cradle of history, heritage and religion. Al-Quds represents the spirit of this sacred existence,” he said in a statement.
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates in May strongly condemned Trump’s controversial proposal for peace between the Israelis and Palestinians, saying it translates into Washington’s recognition of the Israeli regime’s apartheid in the occupied Palestinian territories.
“The climate and atmosphere, which Americans have created with their statements and positions vis-à-vis the so-called deal of the century will encourage Israel’s ruling right-wing coalition and the majority of extremists and settlers to swallow up the rest of the Palestinian land,” the ministry announced in a statement.
Back in July, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei called the US president's 'deal of the century' for the Palestinian territories a "satanic" plan, saying it is a non-starter.
“The Americans have named their satanic policy on Palestine ‘the deal of the century’ but they should know that, by divine grace, this ‘deal of the century’ will never materialize,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.
The so-called deal, a backchannel plan to allegedly reach a peace settlement between Israel and the Palestinians, was proposed by the US administration late in 2017.
