Ali H. M.Abo Rezeg
16 February 2017•Update: 17 February 2017
By Mohamed Majid
GAZA CITY, Palestine
Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has accused the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump of siding with Israel at the expense of the Palestinians’ right to a state of their own.
In a press statement, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qasim described Trump's recent remarks on the Palestine-Israel conflict as "fresh evidence of the mounting [U.S.] bias in favor of Israel".
Trump made the remarks -- in which he appeared to throw cold water on the notion of a "two-state solution" to the conflict -- at a Wednesday press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House.
While Trump did not reject the notion of a two-state solution outright, he broke with Washington’s longstanding support for the idea by saying he could "live with" either a one- or two-state solution to the dispute.
Trump’s remarks at the press conference, Qasim said, "will serve to justify Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people and the theft of their land".
He added: "Washington’s retreat from its previous position [in support of a two-state solution] reveals… its obvious bias in favor of the Israeli occupation."
Qasim also called on the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority to abandon what he described as "the illusion that a solution can be reached through negotiations [with Israel] and that the U.S. represents a fair mediator".
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, meanwhile, warned that abandoning the notion of a two-state solution would lead to regional instability but said he would continue to work with Trump in hopes of reaching a viable peace settlement.
Palestine Liberation Organization Secretary-General Saeb Erekat, for his part, said a one-state solution to the longstanding dispute would have to guarantee equal rights for all citizens.
Nor was the apparent shift in U.S. policy welcomed on the international stage, with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres saying there was no alternative to a two-state solution.
