RAMALLAH, Palestine, Aug 28 (NNN-XINHUA) - Palestinian Prime Minister, Rami Hamdallah, said, the current U.S. government is an accomplice, in Israeli occupation of the Palestinian land and destabilisation of the region.
He made the remarks, during the opening ceremony of a new hospital in the West Bank city of Bethlehem.
He said, the "Deal of the Century" by the United States is a "blackmail" to the Palestinian leadership, since it has recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital, and has been working on "schemes alongside Israel, to liquidate the Palestinian cause, mainly the Palestinian people's right to liberation, return and self-determination."
Hamdallah highlighted the Palestinian leadership's rejection to the "American blackmail, and any decision by Washington, because it is no longer a peace partner." The Palestinians will not accept "waiving their national standards, in exchange for any political price," he added.
The U.S. government, under President Donald Trump, on Friday, declared the cut of more than 200 million U.S. dollars, in aid for the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. A senior State Department official said, the funding, previously allocated for programmes in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, will "now address high priority projects elsewhere."
Besides, recent reports said, the Trump administration is seeking a new legislation, to limit the U.S. aid to Palestinian refugees born before 1948, excluding their decedents, who are estimated at nearly five million.
Since the Arab-Israeli war of 1948, refugees have been driven out of their homes, in what is now Israeli territory, and have never been allowed to come back.-- NNN-XINHUA
