Palestinian rift endangers opposition to US peace plan
Backers of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas say the ongoing Palestinian division will only weaken efforts to defy the US peace plan, which is expected to be announced soon.
RAMALLAH, West Bank — The reconciliation standoff between rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas is creating divisions over how to defy the Mideast peace proposal expected soon from US President Donald Trump's administration. Each faction claims to oppose the plan while accusing the other of supporting it, even though it hasn't been officially unveiled yet.
The plan is expected to strongly favor Israel.
White House senior adviser and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner said April 23 during a Time magazine forum in New York that the administration will announce the so-called "deal of the century" sometime after the Muslim holy month of Ramadan ends in early June.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian rift is widening with the ongoing deadlock. Salah al-Bardawil, the Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip, told Arabi 21 news recently that Hamas is forming a "supreme body" to negotiate with other Palestinian factions, which he didn't name, about how to counter the US proposal.
