Beirut (AsiaNews) – The peace plan proposed by Jared Kushner and the US administration, presented as “the deal of the century” for peace between Israelis and Palestinians and throughout the Middle East, is actually “the slap of the century,” this according Maronite Patriarch Card Bechara al-Rahi. During his homily yesterday in Gherfine (Jbeil) during the consecration of the St Stephen Church, the patriarch said that “The deal of the century is indeed the slap of the century, both for the Palestinian cause and for the return of Syrian refugees to their country, where they can continue to write their own history, on their own territory, preserving their own history and strengthening their own civilisation.”

On 25 June, Kushner, son-in-law and adviser to US President Donald Trump, presented a plan in Bahrain that provides for the distribution of US$ 50 billion in investments to help the economy in the Palestinian territories and in all the countries with a large number of refugees (Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan). According to the cardinal, the plan is an attempt at “settlement and naturalisation” of Palestinian refugees in the countries that host them, “masked with financial aid.” Palestinians have already strongly criticised the plan. Even “if the intention to provide financial were sincere,” explained Mgr Rahi, “it is preferable in the case of Palestinians to help them build their own state and return home, and in the case of Syrians, to help return home to rebuild their homes, their entity and their institutions.”