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PLO calls US President Trump’s Middle East peace plan “humorous and dubious,” says one of the goals of the Palestinian national project is “the release of all of the prisoners”

Headline: “The [PLO] Executive Committee emphasized its absolute rejection of the plan to divide the Gaza Strip from the West Bank and Jerusalem”

“The PLO Executive Committee emphasized its absolute rejection of the plan to divide the Gaza Strip from the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and considered this the fulcrum of the humorous and dubious ‘deal of the century’ (refers to US President Donald Trump’s as yet unpublished Middle East peace plan –Ed.) and of the racist [Jewish] nation-state law, whose goal is to destroy the Palestinian national project – a project that is expressed by the realization of the independence of the sovereign State of Palestine, whose capital is East Jerusalem, in the June 4, 1967 borders, a resolution of all the final status issues, including the issue of the refugees according to UN Resolution 194, and the release of all of the prisoners.”

Jewish Nation-State Law – law passed by the Israeli Parliament on July 19, 2018, which codifies in Israel's Basic Law that Israel is the home of the Jewish nation with Jerusalem its capital, and the Hebrew calendar its official calendar. It establishes Hebrew as the sole official language and grants Arabic a special status, and it recognizes Jewish and Israeli holidays, memorial days, and the Jewish Sabbath as national holidays and days of rest - while guaranteeing the right of all Israeli citizens and residents to celebrate their holidays and days of rest. The law, which passed with 62 in favor, 55 against, and 2 abstentions, has sparked controversy within Israeli society.

UN Resolution 194 (Chapter 11, Dec. 11, 1948) states that "the refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbors should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return." Palestinian leaders argue this means that all Arabs who left Israel during the war (hundreds of thousands) and their descendants (a few million) have a "right of return" to Israel. Israel argues that the resolution only calls for a limited return and only under certain conditions, especially focusing on the words "wishing to return... and live at peace with their neighbors."

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