Rumours swirl around Trump’s plan
THERE ARE increasing signs that Donald Trump’s muchdelayed Middle East Peace Plan, billed rather dismissively in the region as “the deal of the century”, may be announced next month.
No details have yet been confirmed, but rumours suggest it will be a watered-down version of previous American proposals, with the Palestinians being offered a state on between 80 and 90 per cent of the West Bank (slightly less than in previous proposals); a capital in the outskirts of east Jerusalem; and various economic inducements of aid from the Sunni Arab Gulf states.
In an interview with Sky Arabia, Mr Trump’s special advisor Jared Kushner, who led the drafting of the plan, said it deals with all the core issues of the conflict, including the future borders of Israel and the Palestinian state, and has a “strong regional context.”
Last Thursday, pro-Israel Christian evangelical leaders were invited to the White House for a special briefing on the plan. It is understood that the plan will not come as a surprise to the Israeli government either, as Ambassador Ron Dermer has been appraised of the details.
The Palestinian leadership has already said Mr Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital means they will reject any diplomatic proposal coming from his administration. But even before it becomes a basis for negotiations, the plan could end up influencing the Israeli election.
While US diplomatic sources continue to talk of delivering the plan shortly after the Israeli election on April 9, coalition talks to form a new Israeli government are unlikely to be over by the end of that month.
Some senior officials in Jerusalem believe that the plan’s presentation will be delayed again, at least until a new government is sworn in, and that the administration is talking up its contents in order to help Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gain more votes from right-wing Israelis anxious to have him in charge when the plan is presented because of his strong personal relationship with Mr Trump.
But another official claiming to have knowledge of the plan raised the possibility that it could also be tabled immediately after the election as an incentive for the centrist Blue & White alliance to join his coalition and help him form a more moderate centreright government. Blue & White has vowed not to join a Netanyahu-led government, but a peace plan could change those calculations.