‘Slap of the century’: Palestinians slam Trump Middle East plan

Palestinians take to social media to react, denounce and mock Trump’s Middle East plan.

Donald Trump
US President Donald Trump winks at Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the unveiling of the Middle East peace plan proposal in the White House [Brendan McDermid/Reuters]

US President Donald Trump unveiled his long-delayed Middle East plan on Tuesday in front of a pro-Israel audience at the White House with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by his side, prompting Palestinians to express outrage and mock the proposal online. 

Palestinian leaders who were absent during the announcement, rejected the proposal even before its release, accusing Trump of being biased in favour of Israel

Trump called his plan a “historic opportunity” for Palestinians to achieve an independent state of their own by doubling the territory currently under their control. But under the plan, the United States would recognise Israeli sovereignty over illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank and called for Jerusalem to remain the “undivided capital” of Israel.

Mahmoud Abbas
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh sitting during a speech following the unveiling of President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace plan, in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank [Raneen Sawafta/Reuters] 

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called Trump’s Middle East peace plan a “conspiracy”, saying his people’s rights “are not for sale”.

“I say to Trump and Netanyahu: Jerusalem is not for sale, all our rights are not for sale and are not for bargain. And your deal, the conspiracy, will not pass,” Abbas said in a televised address from Ramallah.

After the announcement, Palestinians took to social media to react, comment and at times mock the plan. Often dubbed the “deal of the century” Palestinians referred to it as the “the slap of the century”. 

The hashtags #NoToTrumpPlan and #No4DealOfCentury trended on Twitter. 

“It is a slap and not a deal,” wrote one Twitter user, “down with the slap of the century and long live a free Palestine.”

“PALESTINE IS NOT FOR SALE!” read another tweet, referring to Trump administration’s $50bn economic revival plan announced last June. 

https://twitter.com/wnPKbLhv2GhR409/status/1222227801681670144?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Translation: No to the deal of the century.

Another tweet showed the Palestinian iconic character of “Handala”, created by the late cartoonist Naji al Ali, writing “Palestine is not for sale.”

“Trump can’t decide the fate of Palestinians. This Middle East Plan is meant to demean Palestinians’ right to exist in their homeland,” read another tweet, “he has violated international law”.

Another user denounced the map that Trump tweeted showing the borders of the proposed future State of Palestine.

An Arabic meme circulated on Facebook, mocked the plan after Netanyahu said the US peace plan proposes that the Palestinian capital be located in Abu Dis, a neighbourhood on the outskirts of Jerusalem.

The meme showed a man in the past saying, “Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine,” in the present, “East Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine” and in the future, “Jerusalem restaurant is the capital of Palestine.”

Source: Al Jazeera