Trump deal outrages Lebanon's Palestinian refugee camps

By Wasim saif Al-Din

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AA) - Palestinian refugees in Lebanon responded to the so-called "Deal of the Century" with general strikes, sit-ins and organizing rallies rejecting the plan for peace between the Palestinians and Israelis put forth by U.S. President Donald Trump.

"Trump gave the Israelis the illusion of this deal [exactly] as the Israelis lived on their imaginary project two thousand years ago," said Suhail Al-Natour, a member of the Central Committee of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

He told Anadolu Agency "the Deal of the Century is an American policy compatible with the Zionist right for the upcoming parliamentary (Knesset) elections in Tel Aviv."

"All who is loyal to the Palestinian cause and the rights of the Palestinian people hope that all organizations will unite their efforts on an issue that is very dangerous and is the deal of the century," he said.

"The challenge for the Palestinians now is to realize that there is no truce and the Palestinian Authority should declare its disengagement from the Oslo agreements and cancel their recognition of Israel," he said, referring to an agreement, officially known as the Declaration of Principles on Transitional Self-Government Arrangements -- a peace deal signed by Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization on Sept. 13, 1993.

A refugee who only used his first name, Karam, 45, from the Borj El Brajneh camp in the capital of Beirut said: "It is the Palestinian leaders and people inside and outside the diaspora who can decide our fate not Washington nor other countries," as he affirmed Palestinians commitment to the right of return from one generation to another.

In turn, Muhammad Makan from the Shatila camp south of Beirut said, "the Deal of the Century is a shameful deal. The entire Arab nation must reject it and it is a failure and will not succeed because our faith in God is great."

Palestinian camps around Lebanon witnessed a general strike upon the call of the Joint Palestinian Action Authority and the factions of the Palestine Liberation Organization along with the Fatah movement as an expression of Palestinian anger and rejection of the deal.

Trump released his oft-delayed plan to end the Israel-Palestine dispute during a press conference Tuesday at the White House, where he was hosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while Palestinian authorities were not present.

Trump referred to Jerusalem as "Israel's undivided capital."

His plan unilaterally annuls previous UN resolutions on the Israel-Palestine dispute and recognizes illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

Thousands of protesters took to the streets in Palestine and the Jordanian capital, Amman, in reaction to the plan's formal rollout.

The hashtag #FreePalestine also quickly topped the world trending list on Twitter.

*Bassel Ibrahim contributed to this report from Ankara