Nabil Abu Rudeineh
Nabil Abu RudeinehReuters

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, the official spokesman of Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas, said on Wednesday that any peace plan that does not include the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with eastern Jerusalem as its capital along the pre-1967 borders will fail.

He described the reports on the Trump administration’s peace proposal, which has come to be known as the “Deal of the Century”, as a failed attempt that will not achieve results.

He noted that all proposals related to the diplomatic process must be based on international legitimacy and the principle of a two-state solution.

Abu Rudeineh added that the road to implementing peace in the region is clear and passes through the Palestinian leadership that there is no way around it, as the Americans are trying to do.

The statement followed a report on Channel 13 News which said that the peace plan formulated by the White House includes the establishment of a Palestinian state in about 90 percent of Judea and Samaria, with at least part of eastern Jerusalem as its capital.

Under the plan, the Temple Mount, the Western Wall and the Mount of Olives would reportedly remain under Israeli sovereignty, but with full administrative partnership with the Palestinians.

Abbas has rejected the US peace plan before it has even been unveiled and has been boycotting the US ever since President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in December of 2017.

The PA chairman has also continuously rejected Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s call to sit down for peace negotiations, and has instead chosen to impose preconditions on talks with Israel – all the while insisting that he is ready to sit down for talks.