One-sided plan: trump announced the "deal of the century"

Key aspects of the "deal of the century" - a plan to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict of US President Donald Trump - were announced at a press conference by the American leader with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the White House.

Trump's plan provides for the creation of two states - Jewish and Palestinian. Jerusalem remains the "indivisible capital" of Israel, but Trump promised the Palestinians the capital in East Jerusalem and the American embassy in it, as well as doubling the size of Palestinian territory.

In addition, according to the Trump plan, the United States and Israel are ready to officially recognize the territories that are now controlled by the Palestinians as territories of Palestine, but provided that they give up terrorist acts.

Palestine will continue to operate facilities in the ports of Haifa and Ashdod. Transport links will also be established in Palestine and the West Bank. In addition, according to Trump, Palestinian refugees will be able to choose their place of residence: in the territory of future Palestine, in the territories of their current residence, which will be integrated into Israel, or resettlement in a third country.

The plan also involves the recognition of Israeli sovereignty over large settlements on the West Bank (Judea, Samaria) and the Gaza Strip. According to the “deal of the century”, Hamas will be disarmed and the territory of the Gaza Strip will be demilitarized. The plan prescribes maintaining the status quo of the Temple Mount through the mediation of Jordan.

It is noted that in the event of a settlement of the Middle East conflict, Palestine will receive $ 50 billion in aid from the United States.

The American leader said that Palestine deserves a “better life”, but did not rule out that the plan prepared by the United States could be the last chance for Palestinians to find their own state.

Trump posted on his Twitter page a map that reflects the alleged borders of two future states - Palestinian and Israeli. It shows that two large areas along the Egyptian border will be added to Palestinian territory.

תמיד אעמוד לצד מדינת ישראל והעם היהודי. אני תומך בחוזקה בבטיחותם ובטחונם ובזכותם לחיות במולדתם ההיסטורית. הגיע הזמן לשלום! pic.twitter.com/AtNnQtnGZs

The head of the White House said that Israel is taking a "big step towards peace", embodying the "deal of the century" proposed by the USA. Trump also stressed that the plan does not pose a risk to the security of Israel.

The head of the White House specified that the United States will form a joint committee with Israel to implement these initiatives in order to develop a more detailed and accurate plan from the concept map. It is assumed that Israel and Palestine must agree on all the details in four years.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in turn, called the "deal of the century" "a realistic path to peace." At the same time, according to him, no matter what the Palestinians decide, Israel will adhere to a peaceful path. But if Palestine recognizes the Jewish state, Israel is ready for immediate peace talks, the prime minister emphasized.

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and the head of the Political Bureau of the Hamas Islamic Movement Ismail Haniya, after unveiling the key aspects of the “deal of the century”, held telephone conversations and discussed joint steps to counter the plan put forward by Trump. This was reported by Al-Mayadin TV Channel. According to Abbas, Palestine rejects this initiative.

• Palestinian protesters

“I want to tell Trump and Netanyahu - Jerusalem is not for sale. All our rights are not for sale and are not subject to bargaining. Your deal is a conspiracy, and it won’t work, ”Abbas quoted Reuters as saying during a news conference in Ramallah.

Abbas also stressed that Palestine "will not kneel and will not give up."

In turn, the Jordanian Foreign Ministry said that unilateral Israeli measures will lead to escalation in the region, the state agency Petra reports. The agency said that Israel is trying to impose the construction of illegal settlements, and also called for negotiations to begin on the basis of the Arab peace initiative.

Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Secretary General of the League of Arab States (LAS), said the "deal of the century" will only succeed if the Palestinians and the Israelis negotiate "with honest mediation, without trying to impose any decisions." This is stated in the statement of the Arab League.

As Araik Stepanyan, a member of the Presidium of the Academy of Geopolitical Problems, said in a conversation with RT, Trump’s remarks on the “deal of the century” “contain a lot of contradictions.”

“For example, East Jerusalem and Jerusalem cannot simultaneously be the capitals of Palestine and Israel. Also, his proposal to invest $ 50 billion for the needs of the future Palestinian state is not supported by anything - it is a bait to bribe Palestine, ”the expert said.

At the same time, Stepanyan emphasized that the head of the White House seeks to demonstrate to his voters that "he was the only one who was able to resolve the unresolved conflict." However, according to the expert, the initiatives of the American leader "have no chance of success."

“I don’t see the grandiose, brilliant project“ deal of the century ”, which Palestine can agree to and which will be realized later. Netanyahu and his opponent agree to the deal, but Hamas and the Palestinian leadership have already rejected the plan. Moreover, they will not agree to disarm, since the Palestinian leadership will adhere to the UN resolution of 2014, which states that East Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine, ”the analyst explained.

Palestinian objections

The Palestinian-Israeli conflict has been going on since the mid-20th century and is part of a wider Arab-Israeli conflict. Within its framework, the Palestinian and Israeli sides claim claims of ownership and sovereignty over the same territory of the former British mandate.

The Palestinian side demands a solution to the conflict solely in the form of the establishment of two independent states on this territory, the borders of which will run along the lines that existed before the Six Day War of 1967, when Israeli troops occupied the territory of the Jordan Valley (Judea and Samaria).

• Palestinians on the Gaza Strip
• Reuters
• © Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

This will allow the Palestinians to create their own independent state on the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with their capital in East Jerusalem. However, Israel refuses to return to territorial division along the borders of 1967, and considers Jerusalem to be its "eternal and indivisible capital."

On the eve of the announcement of the American "deal of the century," Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas refused a telephone conversation with Donald Trump and the discussion of his settlement plan.

“They called me from Washington, but I did not answer the call. I said no, and I will continue to say no, Al-Watan Voice quoted the Palestinian leader as saying.

In turn, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Staye said he did not accept the White House plan and called on the world community to reject Washington’s initiative.

“We reject the deal and demand that the international community not participate in it, because it contradicts the foundations of international law and the inalienable rights of the Palestinians. This is nothing more than a plan to destroy the Palestinian movement, ”quoted Prime Minister Al Jazeera.

Staye added that the plan of the American president is aimed at solving the internal political problems of Donald Trump himself, as well as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“This plan is needed to protect Trump from impeachment and to protect Netanyahu from prison, and not for a peaceful settlement,” the Palestinian Prime Minister said.

According to Alexander Vavilov, professor at Moscow State University, expert on the Middle East, Trump’s plan is his “usual political game.”

“He is preparing this deal without consulting the Palestinian side and Russia, which has been dealing with this issue for 50 years. Trump's plan assumes that Jerusalem will be the capital of Israel, and does not allow the concept of a dual state. But his proposal is unrealistic, respectively, Palestine will not agree to his terms, ”the expert said in a conversation with RT.

Russian position

As noted in the Russian Foreign Ministry, Russia will study the US-proposed “deal of the century” on a Middle East settlement. This was stated by Deputy Head of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mikhail Bogdanov. According to him, "decisions are made by the parties involved in the conflict - these are Palestinians and Israelis, Americans do not make a decision."

“They put forward the initiative, everyone will study it. But first of all, the parties to the conflict make the decision. We are not parties to the conflict, ”RIA Novosti quoted the diplomat as saying.

Earlier, Bogdanov, commenting on the announcement of the “deal of the century”, emphasized that the United States “did not consult with the Palestinian leadership, which is a direct stakeholder.” The Foreign Ministry spokesman also added that the United States did not consult with Russian representatives on this issue either.

In addition, in October 2019, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, speaking at the annual meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club, noted that the Trump administration’s proposals were aimed at refusing a two-state solution to this issue.

At the same time, the Israeli side expects interaction with Russia - on January 28, spokesman Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the Israeli prime minister will fly to Moscow on January 29 to “familiarize Russian President Vladimir Putin with the“ deal of the century ”by US President Donald Trump and discuss various issues on the regional agenda of the day. "

The Kremlin confirmed that Vladimir Putin will meet in Moscow with Netanyahu on January 30, Thursday.

“On January 30, Moscow will host a meeting between the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin and the Prime Minister of the State of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, who will visit Russia on a short working visit,” the Kremlin said in a statement.

The head of the Center for Asia and the Middle East of the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies Elena Suponina believes that this step testifies to the trusting relationship between Russia and Israel, in which the Jewish state relies on Moscow’s possible mediation to influence Palestine.

“Recently, a good, trusting relationship has developed between Russia and Israel, so Netanyahu considers it his duty to talk about the details of the initiative put forward by Trump, but he takes into account the desire of Moscow to continue to maintain relations with Palestine,” the political scientist said.

Crazy deal

President of the Society for Friendship and Business Cooperation with Arab Countries, Vyacheslav Matuzov, in a conversation with RT, said that Donald Trump’s plan is to strengthen his position in the United States, as well as help Benjamin Netanyahu, who is in a difficult situation in Israel.

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In addition, the expert noted, Trump’s “deal of the century” involves changing the line of negotiations to resolve the conflict in favor of Israel.

“The purpose of this initiative is to change the format of international negotiations on a Palestinian-Israeli settlement, because the United States wants to take this issue into its own hands and build a format for negotiations in favor of Israel. Previously, the format of the international quartet was in effect, in which the settlement was supervised by the USA, Russia, Europe and the UN. The USA did not like this state of affairs, because they could not put pressure on the positions of the Arab countries, ”the political scientist explained.

Now Washington is trying to reconsider the problem of the Palestinians in a way that will be more convenient for the White House, Vyacheslav Matuzov added.

“But the Americans do not understand that there is no solution to this problem without the Palestinian people. The Palestinian leadership, in turn, has already turned to the League of Arab States with a request to take a consolidated position. Most likely, Palestine will succeed, and this plan will not be accepted by the international community. This Trump deal is crazy, it cannot be realized only because of sympathy for Israel, because there is a Palestinian people whose interests must be taken into account. If the Americans act without taking into account his interests, they will never succeed, ”the expert concluded.