Hamas calls Trump's Mideast plan 'aggressive,' Jerusalem proposal 'nonsense'

Hamas has brushed off US President Donald Trump’s proposal on Jerusalem as “nonsense.” The group rejected his peace plan altogether by calling his statement “aggressive,” adding that it would only spark “anger.”

“Trump's statement is aggressive and it will spark a lot of anger," Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters. Zuhri particularly slammed the US leader's proposal on the future of Jerusalem, calling it “nonsense.”

He added that the city will always be a land for the Palestinians, and that they would oppose Trump’s deal.

Palestinians protest ahead of US President Donald Trump's announcement of his Midle East peace plan, in Gaza City, on January 28, 2020. © Reuters / Mohammed Salem

Zuhri particularly slammed the US leader's proposal on the future of Jerusalem, calling it “nonsense.” He added that the city “will always be a land for the Palestinians”, and that they would oppose Trump’s deal.

Trump’s speech contained conflicting messages, with him first declaring that Jerusalem would be Israel’s “undivided” capital, only to then say that Eastern Jerusalem will be turned into the capital of a newly formed Palestinian state if Palestinians accept his deal. He even vowed to open a US embassy there.

Thousands of Palestinians turned up on the streets in Gaza and elsewhere on Tuesday to protest Trump’s Middle East peace plan even before the US president announced it. The protesters were waving Palestinian flags as well as burned pictures of Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who attended the announcement ceremony.

The US has consistently promoted its peace plan as the “Deal of the Century” that will put an end to a decades-long conflict. Netanyahu also hailed it as a “once in a lifetime opportunity for Israel.” That never sat well with Palestinians, who even branded the proposed accord “a deal of the devil.”