The Middle East peace plan: carte blanche for Israel
Donald Trump’s Middle East peace plan is the “steal of the century”, said The Economist (London). Alongside Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, at the White House last week, President Trump unveiled his “deal of the century” to solve the Israel-Palestine conflict. It would give Israel sovereignty over some 30% of the Palestinian-majority West Bank, along with the Jordan Valley and most of Jerusalem. Palestine’s capital would be established in “a few grim neighbourhoods” on the far fringes of East Jerusalem, isolated from the holy city by a physical barrier. In return, the Palestinians would be given two remote plots of land in the Negev desert. The plan – drawn up by Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law – only offers Palestine the hope of a sovereign state if it creates a government which satisfies both Israel and the US. Even then, the state would actually consist of disjointed territories speckled with Jewish settlements. It should be no surprise that the Palestinian government rejected it “outright”.
The proposal is an “assault on peace”, said Marwan Bishara on Al Jazeera (Doha). Conceived without Palestinian input, it deprives them of “their land, liberty and dignity” – trampling over UN demands that Israel should return territory occupied in 1967. It’s a plan designed for the benefit of Trump and Netanyahu, said Robert Malley on Politico (Virginia). Netanyahu – plagued by corruption claims – is facing a third election in a year next month, while Trump aims to shore up support from pro-Israeli Republicans ahead of the presidential election. Palestinians must unite to reject it, said Al-Quds (Jerusalem). Iran and Turkey have condemned the plan, but some Arab nations, such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt, want us to negotiate. Accepting these terms would be tantamount to surrender.
Trump’s plan isn’t really a deal, said Melanie Phillips in Israel Hayom (Tel Aviv). “It’s an ultimatum”, and an entirely justified one. The Palestinians have rejected all previous offers of a state, because they cannot accept the existence of Israel. Trump is now saying to them: “Suck this up, or lose”, because Israel will never give up the land it needs to secure its future. For Israel, too, this is a “once-in-a-lifetime chance”, said Shimrit Meir in Yedioth Ahronoth (Tel Aviv). Trump has given it “carte blanche” to claim sovereignty over the Jordan Valley and all its settlements in the West Bank. Of course, the backlash from the Palestinians and the international community would be severe. But time is limited: “if it isn’t done now, it never will be done”.