Monday, May 13, 2019

Trump's peace plan unlikely to include independent Palestine state

The final version of president Donald Trump's Middle East peace plan has not been completed according to officials. However, indications are that the plan will probably give Israel all it wants with Palestinians getting little or nothing.

Peace plan will probably stop short of Palestinian statehood
A recent article notes: "President Trump’s proposal for a “deal of the century” to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict promises practical improvements in the lives of Palestinians but is likely to stop short of ensuring a separate, fully sovereign Palestinian state, according to people familiar with the main elements of the effort."
The lack of Palestinian statehood is likely to be followed by annexation of West Bank territory. The Palestinians are not likely to get any real self determination.
An an article in the Times of Israel shows that the US is not going to pay equal attention to the needs of the Palestinians: "As White House readies its peace proposal, senior official dismisses the need for equivalency as a ‘vestige of talking points from decades ago’. While early talk was that Trump intended to give the Palestinians something at some point, more recently the administration has said the plan will be deliberately biased against the Palestinians, just to prove that the US is supportive of Israel."
A senior US official said that the White House views its role as that of a facilitator. The official rejected the notion of equivalency. The TImes article notes: "Rather, the administration is proudly supportive of Israel and does not feel the need to try to counterbalance any pro-Israel statement with some carrots for the Palestinians, or to add a line about Palestinian grievances every time it laments Israeli victims of terror attacks, according to the senior official."
If the Palestinians reject the deal, as they probably will this will give Israel ammunition to claim that they have no partner willing to negotiate with them.
US paints plan in positive hues
Former Trump lawyer Jason Greenblatt, who would lead negotiator to any talks, tweeted to Palestinian leaders last week: “To the PA: Our plan will greatly improve Palestinian lives & create something very different than what exists. It’s a realistic plan to thrive/prosper even if it means compromises. It’s not a ‘sell out’ — if the plan isn’t realistic, no one can deliver it.”
Jared Kushner who helped draft the plan and sell it to Arab nations such as Saudi Arabia said: “What we’ve tried to do is figure out what is a realistic and what is a fair solution to the issues here in 2019 that can enable people to live better lives."
Previously published in the Digital Journal
 

    No comments:

    US will bank Tik Tok unless it sells off its US operations

      US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said during a CNBC interview that the Trump administration has decided that the Chinese internet app ...