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Palestinians burn posters depicting US President Donald Trump during a protest against the US Middle East peace plan, in the P.A.-controlled city of Bethlehem, Jan. 27, 2020. Photo: Wisam Hashlamoun/Flash90.
JNS.org – Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas railed against US President Donald Trump in a closed-door meeting with the Fatah leadership on Monday, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White leader Benny Gantz met with Trump in Washington, DC, to discuss the US administration’s Middle East peace plan.
“Trump is a dog and a son of a bitch,” Palestinian sources quoted Abbas as saying. The PA leader said he had refused to answer a phone call from Washington, and predicted that “difficult days” were ahead as a result.
“They called me from Washington and I did not pick up the phone. I said no and I will continue to say no,” said Abbas. “We are headed for difficult days and we are beginning to bear the consequences of the objection. Resistance must be escalated at all points of friction. All young people must be encouraged,” he said.
Abbas said that while he had been advised not to refuse to take the call, he refused to “go down as a traitor.”
“I was told I’ll pay a heavy price for my foolish behavior,” said Abbas, but “I do not have much longer to live and I will not go down as a traitor. It’s either dying like martyrs or flying the Palestinian flag on the walls of Jerusalem.”
The PA leader also said he would also turn to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad for help in defeating the US plan, the sources said.
Fatah released a statement on Monday calling the United States the “main partner in the occupation” and Trump’s actions “repugnant.”
“We do not have to wait for any theatrical declaration of the US government’s position—the main partner in the occupation,” said the statement. “Trump’s actions are repugnant and we will resist them with every legitimate measure.”
Also on Monday, Abbas instructed PA security forces not to prevent clashes between Arab rioters and Israeli troops in Judea, just two days before a “Day of Rage” which has been planned for Wednesday in response to the expected release on Tuesday of the US plan.