A "historic" plan for Israel but rejected by the Palestinians. Donald Trump unveiled his peace plan for the Middle East on Tuesday, which is unlikely to succeed.
After more than two years of discreet work and several postponements, the President of the United States gave an appointment at noon for his "very big plan". As if to better underline how close Washington got to the Hebrew state under his presidency, he will be accompanied, for this solemn announcement from the White House, by the Israeli Prime Minister, his "great friend" Benjamin Netanyahu, received on Monday in the Oval Office.
Donald Trump's optimism
The ex-New York businessman, who prides himself on being an outstanding negotiator, had entrusted in spring 2017 to his son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner, a political novice, the thorny task of concocting a proposal likely to 'lead to the' ultimate deal 'between Israelis and Palestinians. The goal: succeed where all its predecessors failed. "We have sought peace in the Middle East for many, many, many years, decades and centuries. And that is an opportunity to achieve it, "he reaffirmed on Monday with Benjamin Netanyahu.
"I think that (this plan) has a chance" to promote peace, he added, showing hopeful optimism despite the categorical "no" of the Palestinian Authority, which judges that Washington no longer has the credibility necessary to act as a mediator after a series of decisions favorable to Israel. "We think that in the end, we will have the support of the Palestinians," he even dared to predict, betting on the support, far from being acquired, of the other Arab countries.
Boycott calls
According to senior Palestinian officials, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has in recent months turned down the US president's offers of dialogue and said his plan was "already dead." And the Palestinian Prime Minister, Mohammed Shtayyeh, called in advance the international community to boycott the project, which he says is contrary to international law.
"It is not a peace plan for the Middle East," he insisted, judging that the initiative aimed above all to protect "Trump from dismissal" and "Netanyahu from prison". As a sign that the calendar is delicate, with one month of new elections in Israel where Benjamin Netanyahu is facing an indictment for corruption, the tenant of the White House also received his main opponent, Benny Gantz, on Monday.
But it was with "Bibi" that he chose to appear in front of the cameras, and the Israeli Prime Minister did not hide his enthusiasm. "Thank you for everything you have done for Israel," he said, citing the hard line against Iran, the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of the Hebrew state, and the decision to no longer consider the Israeli settlements in the West Bank as "contrary to international law".
Towards a withdrawal from the Oslo Accords
According to the Palestinians, the American plan includes the annexation by Israel of this vast strategic zone and the settlements in the Palestinian Territories, as well as the official recognition of Jerusalem as the only capital of Israel. Saëb Erekat, secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), said on Sunday that he reserves the right to withdraw from the Oslo accords, which frame their relations with Israel.
Under the Oslo II interim agreement of September 1995 between the PLO and Israel, the West Bank had been divided into three zones: A, under Palestinian civil and security control, B, under Palestinian civil and Israeli security control, and C, under Israeli civil and security control. But Donald Trump's plan "will transform temporary occupation into permanent occupation," denounced Saëb Erekat.
$ 50 billion investment
The American project was also rejected by Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian enclave of two million inhabitants geographically separated from the West Bank, where the authority of Mahmoud Abbas is limited.
The United States presented in June the economic component of its plan, which provides for approximately $ 50 billion in international investment in the Palestinian Territories and neighboring Arab countries over ten years. But the concrete details of this project remain the subject of speculation. Will there be a Palestinian state in the American proposal? The mystery remains. But Donald Trump and Jared Kushner have so far refused to use the term, breaking with the traditional position of the international community in favor of a "two-state" solution.
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