In a speech broadcast on the Arabic-language al Mayadeen TV on Tuesday, the Shia cleric stressed the Palestinians' outright rejection of the ‘deal of humiliation’, warning that Arab states’ support for the plan will bring them shame and dishonor.
“This deal is one of the crimes and conspiracies formed against the Palestinian cause,” the top cleric said, adding that no government has a legal or religious authority to speak about this deal on behalf of the Palestinians.
The Bahraini cleric further called on the Palestinian people to exercise vigilance and resistance against the plan, which he said would only bring shame for its supporters.
The so-called “deal of the century,” drawn up by the administration of US President Donald Trump, is said to hugely favor Israel. Palestinians have already rejected the initiative as “the slap of the century.”
The US is set to unveil the “economic component” of the deal during a conference in Bahrain on June 25-26, a forum already boycotted by all Palestinian factions.
The US claims that during the forum, “Government, civil society and business leaders will share ideas, discuss strategies and galvanize support for potential investments and initiatives that could be made possible by a peace agreement.”
The announcement came as a surprise to Palestinian officials in Ramallah and Gaza. They said that they were not consulted about the conference and stressed that the only way to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was through a political, and not economic, solution.
Khalil al-Hayya, a senior member of the political bureau of Hamas, said on Friday that Palestinians have united to reject the so-called “deal of the century” plan, saying there is a consensus among them to restore the Palestinians’ rights.
Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah warned on Saturday that the upcoming Manama conference may pave the way for the resettlement of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and other countries.
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