Mahmoud Abbas
Mahmoud AbbasSTR Flash90

President Donald Trump’s much-anticipated Middle East peace plan, dubbed the “Deal of the Century”, is already dead, Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas declared Wednesday.

Speaking with Israel’s Galei Tzahal, Abbas said the Trump administration’s declaration that it does not view Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria as illegal was the final nail in the coffin for the yet-to-be-released peace plan.

“From the very beginning we said that the Deal of the Century doesn’t have a foundation. After what Pompeo said, it’s now dead.”

Abbas added that the US does not have the authority to contradict international rulings.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Monday that the US does not view Israeli towns in Judea and Samaria as being in violation of international law, a break with the previous administration’s position.

Turning to Israeli-PA negotiations, Abbas claimed that he had repeatedly offered to meet with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, but was turned down.

“The last time we met was in the year 2010.”

While Abbas refused to endorse any particular candidate for the Israeli premiership, the PA leader said he hoped for a government that would ‘pursue peace’.