The Palestinians claimed on Monday that they have seen the U.S. blueprint for a peace plan although the White House has insisted that any reported drafts are pure speculation and inaccurate.
While its precise outlines have yet to be revealed, Palestinian and Arab sources claim White House Senior Strategic Adviser Kushner has jettisoned the two-state solution – the long-standing U.S. and international formula that envisages an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
After several postponements, Washington plans a first formal outing of the economic components of the plan at a "Peace for Prosperity" workshop in June in Bahrain.
The plan faces possible delays due to political upheaval in Israel, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must fight another election after failing to form a coalition government.
"What we're seeing from the plan is that it will blow up the Palestinians," one Arab official claimed. "The plan doesn't give justice to the Palestinians."
"The Palestinian cause is being liquidated - no Jerusalem [as the capital], no right of return for refugees, no sovereign state. That is why this American project is dangerous," one senior Palestinian leader said.
Abbas has boycotted political dealings with the Trump administration following Trump's decisions in 2017 to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and move the U.S. Embassy there from Tel Aviv.
Since then, the administration has curtailed aid to the PA, shuttered the Palestine Liberation Organization delegation in Washington and cut off finance to UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees.
"In practice, they have already started implementing 'the deal of the century,' on the ground, step by step," the senior Palestinian leader said. "Today, the two-state solution has been scuttled," he said.
Abbas is not alone in his view of the U.S. deal.
Hanan Ashrawi tweeted that the Kushner plan and the Bahrain conference were just "a handout to make our captivity palatable."
The White House has repeatedly shot down various reports on the plan, saying the supposed leaks are factually wrong and are aimed at sabotaging the peace efforts.
