HANAN ASHRAWI VERY VEXED TO DONALD TRUMP'S THREAT ON TWITTER SAID - "WE WILL NOT BE BLACKMAILED,"
Palestinian officials have said they can no longer use Washington as a
broker to restart peace talks with Israel following Trump’s Dec. 6 decision to
overturn decades of U.S. policy and recognize the disputed city of Jerusalem as
the capital of Israel, and ultimately to move the U.S. Embassy there.
A senior Palestinian official has responded with defiance to Donald Trump's threat via Twitter to cut aid to the Palestinian Authority.
A senior Palestinian official has responded with defiance to Donald Trump's threat via Twitter to cut aid to the Palestinian Authority.
Hanan Ashrawi's rebuke followed the US president's tweet admitting that
the Middle East peace process was in difficulty and warning Palestinians that
they could lose US aid worth more than $300m a year.
"We will not be blackmailed," Ashrawi said in a statement on
Wednesday.
"President Trump has sabotaged our search for peace, freedom and
justice. Now he dares to blame the Palestinians for the consequences of his own
irresponsible actions!"
In his tweet on Tuesday, Trump said: "We pay the Palestinians HUNDRED OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS a year and get no appreciation or respect.
In his tweet on Tuesday, Trump said: "We pay the Palestinians HUNDRED OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS a year and get no appreciation or respect.
"With the Palestinians no longer willing to talk peace, why should we make any of these massive future payments to them?"...peace treaty with Israel. We have taken Jerusalem, the toughest part of the negotiation, off the table, but Israel, for that, would have had to pay more. But with the Palestinians no longer willing to talk peace, why should we make any of these massive future payments to them?— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018
Relations between his administration and the Palestinian Authority have
deteriorated since Trump decided last month to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's
capital.
US aid to the Palestinian Authority stood at about $319 million in
2016, according to US government figures.
Jerusalem controversy
The US gives Israel annual military aid of $3.1bn. Next year, that
figure will increase to $3.8bn under a 10-year deal agreed by Barack Obama
shortly before his presidency ended.
No country currently has its embassy in the city, which is home to holy
religious sites and has particular significance for Muslims, Christians and
Jews.
Trump's announcement touched off deadly protests in the occupied
Palestinian territories and major rallies in support of the Palestinians across
the Muslim world.
A resounding majority of UN member states also defied threats by Trump
to declare the US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital "null and
void".
Trump has previously said he wants to relaunch frozen peace talks
between Israel and the Palestinians in search of the "ultimate deal".
Jerusalem's status is an extremely sensitive aspect of the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Israel claims the city as its capital, following the occupation of East
Jerusalem in the 1967 war, and considers Jerusalem to be a "united"
city.
Palestinian leaders have long seen East Jerusalem as the capital of
their future state.
They fiercely oppose any changes that could be regarded as legitimising
Israel's occupation and annexation of the city's eastern sector.
SOURCE : AL JAZEERA NEWS
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