Minister of Foreign and Expatriates Affairs, Riyad al-Maliki, described on Friday the US deal of the century as a “consecration” of the century-long Palestinian suffering of no independence, no sovereignty and no freedom.

“The US deal of the century is the consecration of our century old ordeal: no independence, no sovereignty, no freedom, no justice.

And if they do not think that this situation will have an impact on the future of Israel and the region, one way or the other, they are the ones that are delusional, not us,” al-Maliki said in a speech addressing the London-based Chatham House think-tank.

He said the dead can in no way “be the future of Palestine. Our people have not struggled for so long and endured so much to simply change the size of their chains. They want freedom, not conditional liberty, they want sovereignty not ed autonomy, they want peace and coexistence, not domination and subjugation.”

“What future does the US plan offer to the Palestinian people? Well a very similar one since all indicates this administration is preparing to give its stamp of approval to Israel’s colonial policies,” al-Maliki told the think tank.

He continued, “The US administration has shown nothing but disregard for Palestinian rights and for Palestinian lives, for international law and the internationally recognized terms of reference, and for common sense and decency.

The op-ed published by Pompeo and Friedman in the Wall Street Journal to explain that international law backs their illegal recognition of Golan as an Israeli territory shows to what extent they have espoused the narrative of the Israeli extreme right-wing.”

The foreign minister expressed appreciation to the international community for having stood up against the Jerusalem move by the US administration and in defense of UNRWA, “but when it comes to taking the lead on peace efforts,” he added, “the world left the steering wheel in the hands of a reckless driver. We disagree with the view that we should wait till he goes over a cliff or runs over the Palestinian people to do something about it.”

Al-Maliki reiterated the readiness of the Palestinian leadership to negotiate a peace accord, based on the internationally-recognized terms of reference and the pre-1967 borders, under international monitoring holding accountable the parties and within a determined and binding timeframe.

Meanwhile, he said, “We will never be ready to sign a surrender act. If people struggling against oppression across history surrendered to the odds, they will all be in chains today. We have defied the odds many times before and we will again.”