Palestinian Prez Mahmoud Abbas rejects Mideast plan; says peoples' rights 'not for sale'

In the latest development to the Middle East Peace Plan unveiled by US President Donald Trump on Tuesday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has rejected the plan stating that his people's rights are "not for sale".

"I say to Trump and (Isreali Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu: Jerusalem is not for sale, all our rights are not for sale and are not for bargain. And your deal, the conspiracy, will not pass," Abbas said in a televised address, as cited by Al Jazeera.

In an address, Mahmoud Abbas said that Palestine "would not kneel" and resist the plan through "peaceful, popular means". Meanwhile, Palestinians took to social media to slam the deal, with many dubbing it as "slap of the century" (referring to the US President calling it 'deal of the century')

he Middle East plan unveiled by Trump proposes for the creation of a Palestinian state with a capital in eastern Jerusalem and with double the territory currently under their control.

At the same time, under the plan, the US would recognise Israeli sovereignty over its settlement in West Bank area, with Jerusalem remaining the undivided capital of Israel.

READ | Donald Trump Unveils Middle East Peace Plan Alongside Israeli PM Netanyahu

Netanyahu to push West Bank annexation plan

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would move forward on Sunday and seek his Cabinet's approval to annex West Bank territory. The statement came shortly after President Donald Trump unveiled his long-awaited Middle East Peace plan on Tuesday

While the plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict received a beaming response from Netanyahu, the Palestinians swiftly rejected the plan calling it “nonsense.” 

Trump’s plan calls to create a Palestinian state, but it falls far short of demands put forth by the Palestinian leaders and would give sizable chunks of its West Bank in Israeli hands.

READ | Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu To Push West Bank Annexation Plan On Sunday

Trump's take on the Plan

Donald Trump called his plan a “win-win” for both Israel and the Palestinians, but Palestinian leaders already rejected it before the US president unveiled it at the White House with Netanyahu.

Trump further said he wanted this to be a “great deal for the Palestinians,” adding that his vision gives the Palestinians the time required to grow and meet the challenges of statehood.

READ | Palestinian PM Mahmoud Abbas Rejects Trump Peace Plan Ahead Of Unveiling

READ | Palestinians Threaten To Quit Oslo Accords Over Trump Peace Plan

(With inputs from ANI)