Americans act as spokesmen for Israeli occupation, seek to normalize apartheid: PLO

The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) says the so-called peace plan, which is expected to be unveiled by the United States, is aimed at normalizing the Israeli apartheid with the Americans serving as the spokesmen for the regime's occupation.

PLO Secretary General Saeb Erekat told the Middle East Eye news portal on Friday that Palestinian negotiators had yet to see an official draft of the US initiative purported to resolve the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The US plan is not actually a deal as it is already being implemented by Washington and its allies, he said, stressing that the Americans had become "nothing else than spokespeople for the Israeli occupation."

"If there's any plan, this is being implemented on the ground: with moving the US embassy to occupied Jerusalem [al-Quds], withdrawing support for the [so-called] two-state solution, cutting funds to UNRWA and, eventually, trying to normalize the Israeli apartheid in Palestine," Erekat said.

The remarks come as White House special adviser Jared Kushner and US Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt are discussing the US plan with officials in the occupied territories, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and Qatar.

On Sunday, Israel's Haaretz newspaper reported that the administration of US President Donald Trump is trying to persuade the Persian Gulf Arab monarchies to invest in Gaza economic projects in a bid to calm the situation in the Israeli-blocked territory before Washington unveils its so-called Middle East peace plan. 

PressTV-US ‘aid’ plan for Gaza meant to divide Palestinians: PA

The Palestinian Authority cautions regional states against collaborating with Israel regarding a US plan for the Gaza Strip.

Haaretz quoted Israeli and Arab sources as saying that Washington hoped that it could raise between $500 million and $1 billion.

Earlier this week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Jordan’s King Abdullah II in Amman, fueling speculation about a possible backdoor agreement over the US initiative for the Middle East.

Asked about Jordan's role, Erekat hailed Palestine's ties with Amman as "very strong," saying, "King Abdullah has been clear in his statements calling for a free Palestine with its capital in East Jerusalem [al-Quds]."

PressTV-Netanyahu meets Jordan's King Abdullah II

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets Jordan's King Abdullah II in a surprise visit to Amman.

The chief Palestinian negotiator was also asked about whether the Palestinians would walk away from what the Americans put on the table.

"There is no table to walk away from. It's not like we were negotiating and suddenly we decided to leave," he said. "If anyone walked away, it was the Trump emissaries whose plan has nothing to do with a just and lasting peace and a lot to do with normalizing the Israeli apartheid regime."

Erekat further emphasized that the Palestinians' position is based on international law and UN resolutions, saying, "We are not going to accept anything short of that, and nobody could impose anything upon us."

He also described Jerusalem al-Quds as the "eternal capital" of the Palestinians. "There will be no Palestinian state without al-Quds as its capital," he noted.

The US-Palestine ties deteriorated last December, when Washington recognized Jerusalem al-Quds as the “capital” of Israel and announced plans to transfer the US embassy from Tel Aviv to the occupied city.

The contentious move led President Mahmoud Abbas to formally declare that the Palestinians would no longer accept the US as a mediator to resolve their decades-long row with Israel because Washington was “completely biased” towards Tel Aviv.

The US embassy relocation took place on May 14, the eve of the 70th anniversary of the Nakba Day (the Day of Catastrophe), sparking deadly clashes in the Gaza Strip.

In yet another hostile move, the Trump administration said in January that it would withhold $65 million of a $125 million aid installment to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

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