Jerusalem remains undivided capital of Israel
Palestine To Have Own state
Offers $50b to develop Palestinian state
Trump has unveiled his Middle-East peace plan describe as historic, deal of the century and realistic and “big step towards peace”
President Donald Trump has unveiled his administration’s long-anticipated proposal to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at the White House on Tuesday, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his side.
“Today,” Trump announced from the East Room, “Israel takes a big step towards peace.”The head of the Palestinian Authority, meanwhile, was thousands of miles away, having cut off diplomatic contact with the US more than two years earlier after Trump broke with longstanding US policy and recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.That juxtaposition was the central and startling backdrop to the unveiling of a proposal three years in the making that was overwhelmingly expected to be skewed in Israel’s favor and is largely viewed as dead on arrival in the region.
The plan Trump revealed Tuesday did call for the creation of a new state for the Palestinians, ending questions about his support for the so-called “two state solution.”And Trump said his plan would double Palestinian territory, including a capital in eastern Jerusalem, where he said the US would open an embassy.But the plan would also recognize Israeli sovereignty over West Bank settlements, according to Netanyahu, who spoke after Trump. That’s a step Palestinians have rejected in the past.Trump nevertheless insisted his plan was different from past failed attempts at brokering peace between Israelis and Palestinians.And he made a nod to the absent party, saying the Palestinians deserve a “far better life” than their current situation.
Trump says administration’s Middle East plan to be unveiled TuesdayTrump said the plan proposed a “realistic two-state solution” that does not compromise Israel’s security. And he said Israel’s leaders told him the proposal would provide the basis for direct negotiations with Palestinians.But Trump acknowledged that in order for his plan to have any hope of taking hold, “it’s only reasonable that I do a lot for the Palestinians, or it wouldn’t be fair.
“This a “historic opportunity for the Palestinians to finally achieve an independent state,” Trump said, warning: “This could be the last opportunity they will ever have.”Before seeing the details, Palestinian officials had rejected the plan out of hand — saying that any deal that does not label Israel as an “occupying force” will be the “fraud of the century.
“And even in Israel, the plan’s release is already being viewed through a political lens — as an attempt by Trump — whose own Senate impeachment trial is underway — to bolster his ally Netanyahu, who is facing bribery and corruption charges as well as another election in just over a month. Adding to the controversial split-screen moment, Netanyahu was formally indicted on charges of bribery and fraud and breach of trust in three separate corruption cases on Tuesday — just hours before he was set to join Trump at the White House.
Trump administration officials, meanwhile, insist it is an earnest, if unorthodox, effort to resolve the decades-old conflict, pointing to their invitation of Netanyahu’s political rival, Benny Gantz, to see the plan as proof that it is apolitical.
Trump sounded circumspect about the chances of success for his own plan as he welcomed Netanyahu into the Oval Office on Monday ahead of the plan’s release.”We’re going to show a plan that’s been worked on by everybody, and we’ll see whether or not it catches on,” Trump said. “If it does, that would be great. And if it doesn’t we can live with it too. But I think it might have a chance.
“The plan’s release follows more than a year of unprecedented political uncertainty in Israel — including two elections that failed to produce a governing coalition — that have repeatedly delayed the rollout. Ultimately, Trump administration officials decided to release their proposal ahead of the latest Israeli election, quietly hoping that the proposal could unite Netanyahu and his political rival Benny Gantz into leading a broad-based parliamentary coalition, sources familiar with the dynamic have said.Some Middle East experts have argued that the plan — given the lack of Palestinian involvement and the release’s proximity to upcoming Israeli elections — is squarely aimed at bolstering Netanyahu, giving him a statesman-like moment weeks before the Israeli election.
It’s also a move that emphasizes the importance of Netanyahu’s close ties to the Trump administration.The White House proposal on Tuesday is expected to address the conflict’s most central and intractable political issues, from the status of Jerusalem to borders and security, Israeli settlements and the right of return for Palestinian refugees.
It will build on a $50 billion economic proposal unveiled last June, which called for international investment, grants and loan over 10 years to spur the Palestinian economy if there is first a political resolution to the conflict.The President’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner, who has helmed the peace effort, pitched the proposal during a “Peace to Prosperity” conference in Bahrain, emphasizing the potential for economic growth in the Palestinian territories and in the Middle East more broadly if Israel and Palestinian leaders can agree to a peace deal.
But the economic proposal was met with a thud in the Palestinian territories, where mistrust in the Trump administration reigns following a steady stream of policy moves that have bolstered Israel and undermined the Palestinian position: from US recognition of Jerusalem and the Golan Heights as sovereign Israeli territory to cutting off all US support for aid projects aimed at helping Palestinians. source: CNN
