Former Kuwaiti Information Minister Sami Abdullatif Al-Nesf: The Palestinians Made A Mistake By Rejecting The Deal Of The Century; Every Time They Reject An Offer, They End Up Losing

Former Kuwaiti Information Minister Sami Abdullatif Al-Nesf said in a July 1, 2020 interview on Diwan Al-Mulla Internet TV (Kuwait) that the Palestinians made a mistake by rejecting the Deal of the Century, particularly since they have not suggested an alternative. He said that the Palestinians have historically ended up losing every time they rejected an offer, and he said that they rejected the Deal of the Century just for the sake of rejection.

Interviewer: "Was rejecting the Deal of the Century one of the many mistakes made by the Arabs?"

Sami Abdullatif Al-Nesf: "Absolutely. I have spoken about this here before. Each and every time [the Palestinians] reject an offer, they lose."

Interviewer: "If they accepted the offer in 1948..."

Sami Abdullatif Al-Nesf: "In 1937, they were offered 90% [of Palestine]. In the 1947 Partition Plan – the war was in 1948 – they were offered half of the land. Bourguiba's initiative was in 1965. In our last meeting, I spoke about the Deal of the Century, and I said that whoever rejects something should always be asked what's his alternative. Maybe I don't like this, but if the alternative is zero, I must take it. If the alternative is ten times better, I should take the alternative. The Deal of the Century contains give-and-take, not only 'take.'

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"According to [the Deal of the Century], the final territory of the Palestinian state would be bigger than what was suggested in the Oslo Accords and elsewhere, but it would be based on land swaps – a give-and-take. The [Palestinians] rejected it without presenting any alternatives. They did not reject it and present an alternative such as a [military] force that could offset for [the rejection of] a peace agreement..."

Interviewer: "They could have entered into negotiations with them and changed the equation."

Sami Abdullatif Al-Nesf: "They rejected it just for the sake of rejection, as they have done for the past 100 years. It came down to... Where are we now? It has been exposed... There are videos that anyone can see... The widow of the Palestinian leader [Arafat] has billions [of dollars], and the same goes for the leaders of Hamas."

Interviewer: "We have heard that the leaders of Hamas have billions..."

Sami Abdullatif Al-Nesf: "Indeed, billions. The leaders and their children. Therefore, they cannot solve the problem..."

Interviewer: "Because they want things to remain as they are."

Sami Abdullatif Al-Nesf: "Look at where we are: Today, Israel is talking about annexing the Jordan Valley, but without giving anything in return.

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"The Palestinians found no other option, after they rejected the Deal of the Century, but the option that the Kuwaiti newspapers wrote about yesterday. The only thing that they can do now is to disband the Palestinian Authority. People who are under direct occupation usually fight and wage Jihad in order to gain autonomy, but this is the first time in history that it's the other way around."