Palestinians demonstrate in opposition to Trump's "Deal of the Century" peace plan

(February 2) Three days after US President Donald Trump presented the "deal of the century" his proposal to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Palestinians held demonstrations against his plan across the occupied territories on Friday.

The Trump Plan

The Trump long-awaited Palestine peace plan termed "the deal of the century" was 181 pages long. It shows what a future Palestinian state and Israel would appear. Israel would have full control over Jerusalem as well as its holy sites. However, the Palestinians want East Jerusalem to be their capital. Yet in the Trump document Jerusalem remains the undivided capital of Israel.

The US had already recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel on December 6, 2017 and moved its embassy there from Tel Aviv. The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed and praised the decision. Most world leaders condemned the decision that changed long-standing US policy. A meeting of the UN Security Council resulted in a motion in which 14 of 15 members condemned the US decision but the US vetoed the resolution.

The Trump plan would also formalise the annexation of much of the West Bank, and maintain military control of what would be a fragmented Palestinian state. The plan would also deny any right of return to refugees who had been forced to flee Palestine in 1948 when Israel was formed. The main architect of the plan was Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law. The plans favors Israeli interests over those of the Palestinians. Not surprisingly Israeli PM Netanyahu has praised the plan and accepted it.

A recent BBC article notes that when the deal was announced the atmosphere at the East Room of the White House was more that of a party than a news conference. The BBC describes the scene: "The host, US President Donald Trump, and the guest of honour, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, backslappingly beamed at each other. The guests drawn from the entourages of the two leaders clapped and whooped.The biggest cheers were for President Trump's reminders of what he has done for Israel. Prime Minister Netanyahu said the day would be remembered in the same breath as Israel's day of independence in 1948. It was, said Mr Netanyahu, one of the most important moments of his life."

Netanyahu's reaction should not be surprising since the deal of the century offers Palestinians very little., beyond a fragmented truncated state with limited sovereignty surrounded by Israeli territory and threading between Jewish settlements on land seized by the Israelis.

Palestinians unite in rejecting the Trump plan

Even before the plan was released rival Palestinian groups came out in unison opposing it. Thousands protested in towns and villages both in the Gaza Strip and towns and villages in the occupied West Bank. This is hardly surprising given that the Palestinians were not in any way involved in forming the plan which is a solution to the situation very much in the favor of Israel and does not meet most Palestinian demands. Not surprisingly, Jared Kushner said the Palestinians were quite foolish to reject the agreement. One could ague that it was quite foolish of the US and Israel to think that Palestinians would ever accept an agreement which ignores most of their key demands and in which they were not involved could ever be accepted by the Palestinians. Perhaps they had no expectations of Palestinian acceptance. There may be attempts to gradually implement the terms of the deal in spite of Palestinian objections. The US for example will no doubt support Israeli moves to further annex Palestinian territory.

The president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, said that he had refused to discuss the plan by phone with Trump or even to receive a copy of it the plan that Trump had offered. Abba said that he did not want Trump to be able to say that he had consulted Abbas on the plan. He reiterated last Tuesday that he completely rejected the plan.

Kushner, who prior to joining the Trump administration had no experience either in policy or politics said: "The Palestinians probably need a little bit of time to take a cold shower and to kind of digest the plan."

Palestinian demonstrations

In at least 12 different locations across the occupied West Bank, thousands of Palestinians staged a "Friday of Rage" in opposition to the Trump plan. Israeli security forces shot live ammunition, rubber-coated steel bullets, sound bombs, and tear gas at demonstrators. The Palestinian Red Crescent claimed that at least 48 Palestinians had been hurt within the West Bank. At least three people were reported to have been detained by Israeli security forces..

In the Ramallah governorate, demonstrators in Bilin village raised Palestinian flags and a map of historic Palestine on it was inscribed "Jerusalem is the capital of the eternal Palestine" and "Palestine is not for sale."

Protests even took place in the sleepy city of Jericho not noted for political activism. In Hebron, Israel fired large quantities of tear gas at demonstrators in the city's Bab al-Zawiya Square.

In the Gaza Strip after Friday prayers, thousands of Palestinians flooded the streets in mass demonstrations all denouncing the Trump deal of the century. On Martyr's Square in Gaza City chants called for Palestinian unity in opposing the deal which they called a conspiracy.

Dozens of Palestinians gathered near the boundary with Israel where they burned tires. The Gaza Ministry of Health reported that at least 12 Palestinians sustained injuries near the barrier with Israel.

Previously published in the Digital Journal

Kelly Craft US Ambassador to the UN warns Palestinians not to criticize Trump's Deal of the Centruy

(February 1) Kelly Craft, US Ambassador to the United Nations, on Friday issued a statement warning the Palestinians against expressing any criticism of Trump's "Deal of the Century" peace plan. She said that any complaints would achieve nothing.

Craft noted that she anticipated initial negative reactions to the plan but Palestinian displeasure should be channeled into negotiations. She said: "Bringing that displeasure to the United Nations does nothing but repeat the failed pattern of the last seven decades. Let's avoid those traps and instead take a chance on peace." Why not negotiate in the first place instead of presenting a one-sided deal without any Palestinian negotiation? I think the answer is that the deal is intended not to be an agreement with the Palestinians but a plan to impose a solution on them that favors Israeli interests and is backed by the global power of the US.

US expected to veto any critical resolution in the UN Security Council

If there is a resolution criticizing the Trump peace plan, it is expected that the US will veto. Even if this happens the resolution would show the extent to which other countries reject the plan. No doubt this is why Riyad Mansour the Palestinian Ambassador to the UN has taken the plan to the UN already.

The Mansour resolution

Mansour is working on a resolution critical of the Trump peace deal. He called the plan a "recipe for the destruction of the national rights of the Palestinian people." The Mansour resolution wants to condemn the text of the deal in the strongest possible language. This is doing exactly what the US envoy warned against.

Should the US veto the resolution the Palestinians will very likely take the issue from the Security Council to the General Assembly giving the resolution even more publicity and no doubt showing that many countries reject the plan.

The plan was created with absolutely no input from the Palestinian side. The plan is very much slanted towards the interests of Israel and many argue that it is slanted towards US interests. It would encourage Israeli annexation of the West Bank among other things. The US no doubt realizes that the plan will be roundly rejected by the UN. This is no doubt expect and will be used to advance the argument that the Palestinians will not negotiate peace. However, it is hardly surprising that the Palestinians do not accept a deal in which they were not involved and which favors Israeli interests.

Former President Carter's criticism

Carter noted that the Trump plan violated repeated calls by the UN for a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders. It was that year the Israel occupied Palestinian territories in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The Trump plan considers occupied Jerusalem Al-Quds to be part of Israel's undivided capital. However, Palestinians want that part to be the capital of a future Palestinian state.

Carter claimed that the US deal broke international law concerning issues of Palestinian self-determination, acquisition of foreign land by force, and annexation of occupied territories. He urged UN member states "to adhere to UN Security Council resolutions and to reject any unilateral Israeli implementation of the proposal by grabbing more Palestinian land."

The US proposal also "breaches international law" addressing the issues of Palestinian self-determination, acquisition of foreign land by force, annexation of occupied territories, and also denied Palestinians equal rights, he added.

Arab League rejects and condemns plan

In a statement this Saturday the pan-Arab bloc announced it "rejects the US-Israeli 'deal of the century' considering that it does not meet the minimum rights and aspirations of Palestinian people."

The Arab states agreed not to cooperate with the US administration if it attempts to implement the plan and said that Israel should not implement the plan by force. The group insisted on a two-state solution based on borders before the 1967 war. They also called on East Jerusalem to be the capital of any future Palestinian State. The session was called by Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority. The Arab League took a clear stance opposed to the Trump plan as Mahmoud had requested.

However, Oman, Bahrain, and the UAE had attended the unveiling of the plan. Saudi Arabia and Egypt said they appreciated Trump's efforts. Some Arab countries appear to be cosying up to Israel.

The Trump deal is a dud

The Trump deal was not a deal in the first place but a plan that would have the US and Israel impose conditions on the Palestinians that would favor the Israelis. There was no participation by the Palestinians. What sort of agreement is it when one party is not involved or even consulted?

The US and Israel paint the deal as a grand opportunity for the Palestinians which would solve many of their problems and if rejected would be a huge lost opportunity. Israel may very well try to implement the deal in spite of its rejection by many. In doing so Israel will no doubt have the support of the United States. Resistance by the Palestinians will be taken as showing they are ungrateful and impossible to negotiate with. Any violent resistance will be retaliated against as fighting terrorism.

Previously published in the Digital Journal