TEHRAN - Sabah Zangeneh, former Iran’s representative at the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC), has said that the so-called United States’ peace plan for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, titled “deal of the century”, does not enjoy international support.

In an interview with IRNA published on Saturday, Zanganeh described the deal of century as “dangerous” which can throw international equations into disarray.

Expressing concerns over the consequences of the plan, he said, “Apparently, this plan is supposed to boost economy in the region. However, in fact, it will cause challenges to regional economy.” 

U.S. President Donald Trump announced the general provisions of the plan at the White House with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his side on Tuesday.

The White House claimed that the plan is the most serious, realistic, and detailed plan ever presented, one that could make Israelis, Palestinians, and the region safer and more prosperous.

“This Vision is just the first step and provides the basis for historic progress toward peace. The United States hopes this Vision will lead to direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians,” it added.

Palestinians took to streets in Gaza and the West Bank to protest the plan.

Ambassadors, international law experts, and politicians believe that the plan is designed to legitimize the stealing of the Palestinian lands.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said the plan would not serve peace because it ignores Palestinians’ rights and attempts to legitimize Israel’s occupation.

“Jerusalem is sacred for Muslims and Trump’s so-called peace plan proposing to leave Jerusalem to Israel is never acceptable,” he said on Wednesday, Anadolu news agency reported.

In a joint declaration, Turkey’s parliament on Wednesday condemned the plan.

Describing the so-called “deal of the century,” as a “plan of instability and conflict,” Turkish lawmakers underlined that it excluded Palestinians, “one of the two parts” of the dispute between Israel and Palestine.

“[The plan] is against UN decisions and the perspective of the two-state solution,” the declaration said, accusing it of seeking to turn the occupation of Palestine into its annexation.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Tuesday, “We say a thousand times: No, no and no to the deal of the century,” vowing that the U.S. plan “will not come to pass” and that “our people will send it to the dustbins of history.”

During a meeting with Abbas on Friday, Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit affirmed that Arab nations and the Palestinians will succeed in responding to the U.S. plan.

He described the plan as a “call to surrender”.

In a series of tweets, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif castigated the plan.

“The so-called ‘Vision for Peace’ is simply the dream project of a bankruptcy-ridden real estate developer,” Zarif said.

The foreign minister added the plan was a “nightmare for the region and the world and, hopefully, a wake-up call for all the Muslims who have been barking up the wrong tree.”

Zarif also said the plan is “sleepwalking into a catastrophe” and likened it to “highway to hell”.

The foreign minister also said Muslims must “wake up” to this plot as the United States has proven that it has never been an “honest broker” in mediation between the Palestinians and the Zionist regime of Israel.

“We Muslims need to wake up: The U.S. never was—and can never be—anything resembling an honest broker.”

Also, U.S. Democratic presidential candidates on Tuesday condemned the Trump administration’s plan.

Former vice president Joe Biden called the outline counterproductive and warned against settlement annexations.

“A peace plan requires two sides to come together. This is a political stunt that could spark unilateral moves to annex territory and set back peace even more,” Biden said.

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders said any agreement “must end the Israeli occupation and enable Palestinian self-determination in an independent state of their own alongside a secure Israel. Trump’s so-called ‘peace deal’ doesn’t come close, and will only perpetuate the conflict. It is unacceptable.

“The United States can bring unequaled leadership to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but we must use that leadership to promote a just and durable agreement. Any acceptable peace deal must be consistent with international law and multiple UN resolutions,” Sanders said.

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren said, “Trump’s ‘peace plan’ is a rubber stamp for annexation and offers no chance for a real Palestinian state. Releasing a plan without negotiating with Palestinians isn’t diplomacy, it’s a sham. I will oppose unilateral annexation in any form—and reverse any policy that supports it.”

Former South Bend, Indiana mayor Pete Buttigieg lashed Trump for his handling of foreign affairs and censured the plan as undermining a workable solution to the conflict.

“This president’s Mideast ‘deal of the century,’ like so much else he’s done in foreign policy, makes complex situations worse,” Buttigieg said. “Peace requires both parties at the table. Not a political green light to the leader of one for unilateral annexation.”

NA/PA