The President of the United States Donald Trump announced on Monday, January 29, a Palestine-Israel Peace Plan that has been under research and disposition since his first year in office.
Mostly known as Trump Peace Plan or The Deal of the Century, it is a proposal by his administration bearing the stated intention of resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Some of the most notable recommendations are:
- The US will recognize Israeli sovereignty over a territory that Trump’s plan envisages being part of Israel. The plan includes a conceptual map that Trump says illustrates the territorial compromises that Israel is willing to make.
- Trump’s plan would give Palestinians control over 15% of what is called “historic Palestine” and provide a Palestinian capital in Eastern Jerusalem, where Trump says the US would open an embassy.
- Jerusalem “will remain Israel’s undivided capital.”
- “No Palestinians or Israelis will be uprooted from their homes” – suggesting that existing Jewish settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank will remain.
The peace plan was met with a tremendous rejection from Palestinians, and a “1000 no’s” from the President of the State of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas.
The Lebanese officials, as well as the majority of the Lebanese society, met the plan with similar reactions of rejection.
Statements of Lebanese officials
During a call with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Lebanese President Michel Aoun affirmed Lebanon’s solidarity with the Palestinian people in facing the developments that have arisen from what became known as the “Deal of the Century.”
Aoun stressed that “Lebanon adheres to the Arab Peace Initiative that was approved at the Beirut Summit in 2002, especially with regard to the right of the Palestinians to return to their lands and the establishment of their independent state with Jerusalem as its capital.”
Prime Minister Hassan Diab tweeted on his official Twitter account: “Jerusalem will remain the compass, and Palestine will remain the ultimate cause.”
Speaker of the Parliament Nabih Berri said in a statement that the “Deal of the Century” aborted the last remaining Palestinian dream of establishing an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital.
He also described the plan as a bribe for Palestinians to sell their rights, sovereignty, dignity, and the Arab Palestinian land with Arab money.
Former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora considered the plan as a renewal American-Israeli attempt that suspiciously goes well with the timing of the electoral entitlements of President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
He considered the plan as an attempt to deny all international legitimacy decisions and what the United States has committed to over the past decades.
He added that the plan is intended to rob the rights of the Palestinian people, particularly Jerusalem, and liquidate the Palestinian issue, which is therefore not a “peace” plan.
Former Prime Minister Salim Hoss announced in a statement, “Yesterday, US President Donald Trump spoke to us in a Hollywood scene that provoked the feelings of Arab Muslims and Christians.”
He stressed, “It is an insulting scene of the international law, neglecting the United Nations resolutions because it wasted the right of a people and obliterated the noblest cause, and emotional abolishes an Arab homeland called Palestine.”
Parliament Member Sami Gemayel tweeted, “The first condition for any historic deal is the agreement of both parties. The stability of the region can only be built with a fair agreement that will also satisfy all the countries concerned. With regard to Lebanon, we reject any settlement and adhere to the Palestinian right of return.”
The Grand Sunni Mufti of Lebanon, Sheikh Abdul Latif Deryan, commented that “the so-called” deal of the century “is a liquidation of the Palestinian cause and will be doomed to failure.
Statements of the Lebanese people
The Lebanese people rejected the Trump peace plan and sought social media to express their solidarity with Palestine in what is also known for decades as the “Middle Eastern Conflict.”
Protesters in Martyr Square expressed their support strongly by standing in solidarity with Palestinians against the Deal of the Century, insisting that the Palestinian land is not negotiable or “up for sale.”
Seven of the hashtags trending in Lebanon were dedicated to the so-called Peace Plan and to the Palestine conflict, with #JerusalemIsTheCapitalOfPalestine topping the trending chart.
Many Lebanese Users on Twitter agreed that “Jerusalem will always be the capital of Palestine,” and that “Palestine will always belong to Palestinians as a whole. They insist that the Deal of the Century “shall not pass.”
Twitter user Alaa Zayat tweeted: “#Palestine is not for sale… All of #Quds is the capital of Palestine. #TheDealOfTheCenturyWillNotPass #TheDealOfShame.”
Twitter user Sylvana Abifarraj wrote “The Deal of Shame” and attached a photo of what seems as a Palestinian kid dragged by the Israeli army, which references the ongoing Israeli arrests of Palestinians.
Statements of Lebanese celebrities
The LBCI comedian and host of the famous “La Hon W Bas” talk show tweeted on his official twitter account, “Israel has made a nice agreement with itself,” implying that the plan only serves one side (the Israeli’s) and not the other.
The well known digital public figure and social media influencer Adeela posted a photo on Instagram condemning the Arab World Leaders’ reaction to the deal.
“Arabs are only good at hashtags and verbal disapprovals. Where are the “millions”? The “millions” are asleep,” the photo said.
Lebanese pop star Elissa tweeted a passionate and bitter statement: “They said that the deal of the century will bring peace … on the blood of millions of people (…) How ugly is politics when justice is absent. The house is ours, Jerusalem is ours, and from our own hands to Jerusalem we send peace. And the Arab leaders are pretending not seeing and not hearing.”
