Top Bahraini Cleric:
Trump’s Plan Act of High Treason Against Entire Muslim World
MANAMA (Dispatches) – Bahrain’s most prominent Shia cleric Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim has severely denounced U.S. President Donald Trump’s so-called deal of the century on the decades-old Zionist-Palestinian conflict as treason and an act of aggression against the entire Muslim world.
"The plan is an aggressive position against the whole Muslim Ummah, which the United States, Israel and those who have contributed to it are seeking to advance. This is an act of high treason,” the cleric said at a ceremony marking the ninth anniversary of Bahrain’s popular uprising against the ruling Al Khalifah regime in the Iranian city of Qom on Thursday night.
Sheikh Qassim also harshly criticized Arab states that have backed the U.S.-crafted deal for betraying Palestinian people.
On January 28, Trump unveiled his so-called deal of the century, negotiated with the Zionist regime but without the Palestinians.
Palestinian leaders, who severed all ties with Washington in late 2017 after Trump controversially recognized al-Quds as the so-called capital of the Zionist regime, immediately rejected the plan, with President Mahmoud Abbas saying it "belongs to the dustbin of history.”
Meanwhile, a high-ranking official from the Palestinian Hamas resistance movement said his group is determined to foil Trump’s plan.
Khalil al-Hayya, a member of Hamas’ political bureau, made the remarks during a ceremony in Gaza City on Wednesday, vowing that the resistance group would continue its fight against the regime’s occupation.
The so-called "peace” plan enshrines al-Quds as "Israel’s undivided capital” and allows the regime to annex settlements in the occupied West Bank and the Jordan Valley. The plan also denies the right of return of Palestinian refugees to their homeland, among other controversial terms.
Hayya’s comments were primarily made in response to Zionist Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who threatened Hamas on Tuesday with dire "surprise” if the movement’s attacks against Zionist regime targets did not come to an end.
"While you are threatening Hamas, Hamas is already geared up to uproot you and make you leave our land,” the senior Hamas official said, directly addressing the Zionist premier.
"If the [Palestinian Authority’s] relations and security coordination with the occupation are not severed, the world will not believe us that we are against ‘the deal of the century,’” he stressed.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has already severed ties between the Palestinian Authority, which he heads, and the Zionist regime as well as the U.S. in reaction to Trump’s scheme. Addressing the UN Security Council on Tuesday, Abbas reiterated his rejection of the U.S. president’s initiative.
However, Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir hailed the so-called deal of the century as positive, saying the initiative can provide the basis for negotiations between the Palestinians and the Zionist regime.
"The Palestinians must decide for themselves, and we must support them. I believe that things will become clear after the U.S. elections (slated for November 3, 2020),” Jubeir said at a press conference on the sidelines of his visit to the Romanian capital Bucharest on Thursday.
The top Saudi official went on to claim that there are some positive elements in Trump’s proposed deal, which could facilitate negotiations between Zionist and Palestinian officials.
On January 28, Trump unveiled his so-called deal of the century, negotiated with the Zionist regime but without the Palestinians.
"The plan is an aggressive position against the whole Muslim Ummah, which the United States, Israel and those who have contributed to it are seeking to advance. This is an act of high treason,” the cleric said at a ceremony marking the ninth anniversary of Bahrain’s popular uprising against the ruling Al Khalifah regime in the Iranian city of Qom on Thursday night.
Sheikh Qassim also harshly criticized Arab states that have backed the U.S.-crafted deal for betraying Palestinian people.
On January 28, Trump unveiled his so-called deal of the century, negotiated with the Zionist regime but without the Palestinians.
Palestinian leaders, who severed all ties with Washington in late 2017 after Trump controversially recognized al-Quds as the so-called capital of the Zionist regime, immediately rejected the plan, with President Mahmoud Abbas saying it "belongs to the dustbin of history.”
Meanwhile, a high-ranking official from the Palestinian Hamas resistance movement said his group is determined to foil Trump’s plan.
Khalil al-Hayya, a member of Hamas’ political bureau, made the remarks during a ceremony in Gaza City on Wednesday, vowing that the resistance group would continue its fight against the regime’s occupation.
The so-called "peace” plan enshrines al-Quds as "Israel’s undivided capital” and allows the regime to annex settlements in the occupied West Bank and the Jordan Valley. The plan also denies the right of return of Palestinian refugees to their homeland, among other controversial terms.
Hayya’s comments were primarily made in response to Zionist Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who threatened Hamas on Tuesday with dire "surprise” if the movement’s attacks against Zionist regime targets did not come to an end.
"While you are threatening Hamas, Hamas is already geared up to uproot you and make you leave our land,” the senior Hamas official said, directly addressing the Zionist premier.
"If the [Palestinian Authority’s] relations and security coordination with the occupation are not severed, the world will not believe us that we are against ‘the deal of the century,’” he stressed.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has already severed ties between the Palestinian Authority, which he heads, and the Zionist regime as well as the U.S. in reaction to Trump’s scheme. Addressing the UN Security Council on Tuesday, Abbas reiterated his rejection of the U.S. president’s initiative.
However, Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir hailed the so-called deal of the century as positive, saying the initiative can provide the basis for negotiations between the Palestinians and the Zionist regime.
"The Palestinians must decide for themselves, and we must support them. I believe that things will become clear after the U.S. elections (slated for November 3, 2020),” Jubeir said at a press conference on the sidelines of his visit to the Romanian capital Bucharest on Thursday.
The top Saudi official went on to claim that there are some positive elements in Trump’s proposed deal, which could facilitate negotiations between Zionist and Palestinian officials.
On January 28, Trump unveiled his so-called deal of the century, negotiated with the Zionist regime but without the Palestinians.