US President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace plan is a dud.
It certainly falls far short of any position that follows on from other credible international deals between Palestine and Israel, such as the Oslo II accords.
Right now, embattled Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in Washington to meet President Trump where full details of the US leader’s plan are being released.
Netanyahu’s presence, and the timing of the release, should be enough to convince even the most sceptical critic that this document is one-sided — a blatant attempt to boost the Israeli PM’s stand with a third-general election looming.
Indeed, the pro-Israeli bias and denial of established Palestinian rights in this proposal should be enough to have it included in any book of evidence in Netanyahu’s impending fraud trial.
In the first three years of the Trump presidency, occupied Jerusalem has been declared the capital of Israel, the Oval Office has ceded the occupied Golan Heights to Israel, cut off vital funds to support the necessary work aiding Palestinian refugees, and says it no longer believes Israeli colonies in occupied Palestinian territory are inconsistent with international law.
Since 1995, Palestine’s political representatives have abided by the aspirations and conditions of the Oslo II accords, the only credible basis for a two-state solution that provides a modicum of justice for a people whose land has been illegally occupied for more than seven decades.
Now, the proposal offered by the Oval Office represents an abrogation of all of the principles necessary for a lasting peace and just settlement.
Any lasting peace can only be built upon an acceptance and recognition of two states working side by side, the right of return for all Palestinians who have been forced from their homeland, a guarantee of equal rights, and recognition of the shared importance of Jerusalem between both communities.
In the first three years of the Trump presidency, occupied Jerusalem has been declared the capital of Israel, the Oval Office has ceded the occupied Golan Heights to Israel, cut off vital funds to support the necessary work aiding Palestinian refugees, and says it no longer believes Israeli colonies in occupied Palestinian territory are inconsistent with international law.
At every turn, the Trump administration has been the cheerleader, appearing to bankroll the Zionist policies of Netanyahu at every turn.
Now it expects Palestinians to fall into line once more in accepting this sham of a deal.
Already, the Palestinian National Government is indicating it will pull out of the Oslo II accords and is urging the international community to reject this proposal.
Trump’s deal is a dangerous misstep that undermines security and stability.
Behind all the Oval Office hyperbole of it being “the deal of a century”, the reality is it is “the dud of the century”.
