PA says ‘obnoxious’ Trump economic proposal like ‘Balfour II’

The Palestinian Authority’s Foreign Ministry calls the “obnoxious” US $50 billion investment proposal “the Balfour Declaration II, which denies the existence of the Palestinian people.”

A statement from Mahmoud Abbas’s government says the proposal “does not talk about the economy of the Palestinian state and its components, but tries to whitewash the occupation and settlements.”

The landmark 1917 Balfour declaration, which promised British support in the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Mandate Palestine, is seen as a key milestone in the establishment of the State of Israel. The document is roundly condemned by Palestinians who say it was instrumental in their eventual dispossession with the creation of Israel.

The 10-year US plan unveiled yesterday in Bahrain calls for projects worth $6.3 billion for Palestinians in Lebanon, as well as $27.5 billion in the West Bank and Gaza, $9.1 billion in Egypt and $7.4 billion in Jordan.

The PA is boycotting the so-called Peace to Prosperity workshop and senior officials have rejected the US plan, charging that the unabashedly pro-Israel Trump is seeking to buy off the Palestinians and deprive them of an independent state.