Official PA Daily: Trump's Coronavirus may be fabrication to gain sympathy and avoid debating Biden
Saeb Erekat: I’m certain that if [Joe] Biden or any other president rises [to power], the first thing that person will do is to declare that [Trump’s] deal of the century is off the table”
Mahmoud Abbas’ official PA daily ran a front page editorial with the headline “Trump's Corona - False Claims and expectations.” The editorial says that if the claim is true that Trump is deceiving the American people, it is because Trump wants to gain sympathy of the American voters and to avoid future debates with Democratic challenger Joe Biden. The fact that Trump’s infection was announced shortly after his debate with Biden “which Trump turned into the worst debate in history” makes it logical that Trump wants to avoid future debates by feigning illness, says the PA daily.
The PA editorial adds that if Trump is sick, possibly the illness will cause him to “re-examine the erroneous and aggressive policies towards humanity… while he fuels racist extremist ideas, and sides with falsehood against truth.”
After insulting the US president repeatedly, the editorial ends on a more conciliatory note, adding:
“whether or not the U.S. president has caught Corona virus, we will not analyze this news based on wishful thinking. Corona virus is a disease that we do not wish for the creatures of Allah wherever they are, and we pray for the speedy recovery of all those infected.”
[Al-Hayat al-Jadida, Oct. 4, 2020]
Also on a conciliatory note, on the same page the PA daily published that:
“the Secretary of the PLO Executive Committee, Saeb Erekat, told CNN that President Mahmoud Abbas wishes US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania a speedy and full recovery.”
[Al-Hayat al-Jadida, Oct. 4, 2020]
The statement about “wishful thinking” is possibly a reference to the fact that the PA has already made it clear they are hoping for a Joe Biden election victory that will completely change US policy and end the US peace proposal. Saeb Erekat in a recent interview made this very clear:
“You [the UAE and Bahrain] believe [Jared] Kushner, who is a kind of mixture of ignorance and illiteracy – together with [US Ambassador David] Friedman – and spite and racism… I’m certain that if [Joe] Biden or any other president rises [to power], the first thing that person will do is to declare that the [Trump’s] deal of the century is off the table, because they have issued statements. There is a proposed resolution 326 of the American Congress. 226 members of Congress voted against the deal of the century and said that it cannot bring peace. They voted in favor of the Palestinians’ right of self-determination, in favor of the State of Palestine and all these matters, and voted against closing the American consulate in East Jerusalem and against closing the PLO office [in Washington].”
[Official PA TV, Sept. 15, 2020]
The PA is expecting a democratic administration will make fundamental changes in US Mid-East policy, which the PA has criticized strongly in recent years.
The following are longer texts of these items:
Title: "Trump's Corona - False Claims and expectations"
Official PA daily editorial
"What if the claim that US President Donald Trump was infected with the corona virus is fabricated? Some say President Trump fabricated this news to win sympathy, and to avoid future debates with his Democratic opponent, Joe Biden…
The Washington Post counted 3,000 lies by Trump, a thousand of them on Corona virus… so the fabrication of infection remains possible. Perhaps the thing that most reinforces this is the fact that Trump's infection with the Coronavirus was published a few days after his first debate with his Democratic opponent Joe Biden, which Trump turned into the worst debate in history!
Of course there remains [the possibility] that the Corona virus has indeed managed to reach the American president, and that there is no fabrication in that regard. If this is the case, and without malicious joy, perhaps we can aspire that the suffering caused by this disease will cause the American president to re-examine the erroneous and aggressive policies towards humanity and its just causes, which he represents while he fuels racist extremist ideas, and sides with falsehood against truth, and with occupation against liberation and freedom…
Whether or not the U.S. president has caught Coronavirus, we will not analyze this news based on wishful thinking. Coronavirus is a disease that we do not wish for the creatures of Allah wherever they are, and we pray for the speedy recovery of all those infected.”[Al-Hayat al-Jadida, Oct. 4, 2020]
“The Secretary of the PLO Executive Committee, Saeb Erekat, told CNN that President Mahmoud Abbas wishes US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania a complete cure and a speedy recovery.”
[Al-Hayat al-Jadida, Oct. 4, 2020]