The prime minister of the Palestinian Authority is not a fan of President Trump’s foreign policy.
Mohammad Shtayyeh blasted Trump on Monday during a virtual appearance with European lawmakers, according to the Times of Israel. He said that Trump’s policies in the Middle East have been damaging to Palestinians.
“If we are going to live another four years with President Trump, God help us … and the whole world,” Shtayyeh said.
Throughout his time in office, Trump has been a strident supporter of Israel and one of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s most loyal allies.
In one of Trump’s first major foreign policy moves as president, Jerusalem was recognized by the United States as Israel’s capital, and the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem was opened in 2018. The decision earned Trump plaudits in Israel but was angrily received by many Palestinians, some of whom died in violent protests over the embassy’s relocation.
Trump drew the ire of Palestinians earlier this year when he unveiled a peace plan for the region, which Trump dubbed the “deal of the century.” The plan calls for a Palestinian state with its capital in east Jerusalem in return for the recognition of major Israeli settlements, but Palestinians thought that the plan favored Israeli interests over their own.
“After the nonsense that we heard today, we say a thousand noes to the deal of the century,” said Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas after Trump’s plan was unveiled. “We will not kneel, and we will not surrender.”
Shtayyeh also blasted the proposed peace deal during his Monday remarks and said that Trump’s time in office has been a waste for Palestinians.
“Four years have been really wasted,” Shtayyeh said. “We were waiting for the ultimate deal, and everyone was hoping that the ultimate deal would really be a deal and be ultimate. Unfortunately, it has not been.”
In August, the Trump administration unveiled news that it helped broker historic peace and normalization treaties between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain. The treaty, dubbed the Abraham Accord, was signed at the White House and doubled the number of Arab countries that have deals with Israel. The agreements were met with anger by some Palestinians, and rockets were fired into southern Israel by terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip at about the time that the pact was signed.
There are 20 days until the U.S. presidential election, and world leaders are closely watching. With regard to Israel, Democratic nominee Joe Biden has vowed not to move the U.S. Embassy from Jerusalem back to Tel Aviv, although he has been critical about the 2018 relocation itself.
