Palestinian Authority officials say a former Israeli Defense Minister revealed details of the soon-to-be released American peace plan for the Middle East, the London-based Al-Hayat newspaper reported Wednesday.
According to the report, shortly before he left office in November, former Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman (Yisrael Beytenu) told Palestinian Authority officials that the upcoming plan, dubbed the “Deal of the Century” by President Trump, would include the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state in the Gaza Strip.
Arabs living in Judea and Samaria would be citizens of the new Palestinian state, the PA officials said of the American plan, but no territory in Judea and Samaria would be ceded to the newly-formed Palestinian state.
Instead, the areas currently under PA control in Judea and Samaria would receive expanded autonomy and “broad economic incentives”.
The plan reportedly also includes provision for the establishment of a new airport and seaport in the Gaza Strip – to be paid for with international aid money.
There has been no official confirmation from the Trump administration, which has refused to disclose details from the upcoming peace plan.
A spokesperson for Liberman denied the report, saying that the Yisrael Beytenu chairman had not seen the American peace plan.
"Former Defense Minister and Yisrael Beytenu Chairman MK Avigdor Liberman hasn't seen the plan, and to the best of his knowledge the Americans have not revealed details of the plan to anyone in Israel, and it isn't even clear if the plan has been completed. So the [Al-Hayat] report is simply incorrect."
On Monday, PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas denounced the American plan, calling it a “conspiracy”.
“This is a conspiracy: a conspiracy that they are going to be waging from afar,” Abbas said during a Fatah faction meeting Monday night.
“They say, ‘Wait for the deal’. What are we waiting for? Everything is on the table, and nothing is left hidden. What they offer is rejected, rejected, rejected. We will fight to prevent it, because we will not sell our sanctity.”