In a Monday interview with the Times of Israel, US special envoy Jason Greenblatt reported that the upcoming peace plan from President Trump will “be heavily focused on Israeli security needs,” but will try to be “fair” to the Palestinians.
He wasn’t very clear what this would entail, but said that “each side will find things in this plan that they don’t like.” That’s already largely the case, with neither Israeli nor Palestinian officials expecting much out of the talks, and Palestinian officials in particular believe the US is too biased to be taken seriously.
Greenblatt says that the plan will address “all of the core issues,” and assured that it would not be built around the idea of a Palestinian-Jordanian confederation, something Palestinian President Abbas has previously said US officials were talking to him about.
What the US is actually planning to propose is not at all clear, though a focus on Israeli needs likely means that Israeli demands that the Palestinians never have any control over their own borders will be a part of the proposal.
I suspect Trump’s crazy settler friends are embracing the South African solution, Bantustans for Palestinians.
Bantustans, reservations, ghettos, whatever… These are all solutions from a different century, when racism and tribalism ruled. Oh, that’s still the case in Israel? Hmm…
The only solution that isn’t an anachronism is a democratic single state with well-defined borders and equal rights for all. Welcome to the 21st Century, Israel. If you don’t like it, leave… Just don’t take the rest of humanity with you.
It would be helpful if you actually knew what a ‘Bantustan’ was.
Nothing in the least comparable with Israel and Palestine.
I wouldn’t imagine anyone saying anything differently to Israel. It’s the only thing they care to hear, or at least the only thing they care to hear that can be publicly stated. I can’t think of a speech made anywhere that doesn’t say the same thing in some way shape or form. So of course it’s a given that any deal will revolve around Israeli security. And no deal that doesn’t revolve around Israeli security stands any chance at all of being accepted or even put forward for that matter. And like it or not 90% of American policy makers agree with that position. In fact most of the world agrees that Israel has a right to “security”, for whatever that’s worth.
There really is no question that if a deal is made that Israeli security will come first and there never has been about that has there? Furthermore, no other deal is remotely possible and anyone who thinks otherwise is kidding themselves. So this really isn’t any type of “new” announcement at all.
The real question is what is the Trump team going to bribe the Palestinians with? and the answer is; We don’t know yet. He’s used the Stick and the carrot will get offered when he thinks it’s most likely they will accept. Personally I think the carrot is going to be something big enough, that if the Palestinian leadership refuse, the Palestinian people will turn on them. It’s a way of positioning yourself so you can’t lose. You win if; (A)They accept or (B) if they refuse.
If the Palestinians refuse a startlingly good offer, their leadership will be finished along with any world wide goodwill towards that leadership. It also puts both Israel and the US in the position of strength from a PR standpoint. If the offer is lousy and it’s not really in the best interest of the Palestinian people, then it does the opposite. A lousy offer that does nothing for the Palestinian people will strengthen the Palestinian leadership and weaken Israeli/US leadership on the world stage, etc. The deal will not only need to be good, but GREAT and it will need to be obviously great, so that nobody can deny that it’s the best deal the Palestinian people are ever likely to get again.
I will actually be shocked if the “Carrot” that gets offered by Trump/Kushner isn’t HUGE. Why don’t we know what the carrot is yet? It’s just as I stated earlier. Trump is trying to put as much pressure on the Palestinian people and leadership as possible, before presenting them with the deal. When they think the time is right the offer will be made public. If it’s not a big enough offer, then it will all blow up in their faces and be worse than if Trump had done nothing at all.
Now I could be wrong about this “carrot” but what else makes sense? Why go to all this trouble if you don’t have something to offer the Palestinian people? Just handing them the stick will only strengthen their resolve and make the Palestinian leadership stronger. And we already hit them with the stick by moving the embassy, ending aid and allowing Israel to continue cracking down, economically and militarily.
The problem will be that one side will have a completely different opinion on what constitutes a “startlingly good offer” than the other side.
Exactly. That’s why this type of strategy must rely on offering something that is actually good for the Palestinian people and it needs to be big enough that it’s undeniably good. Furthermore it must be something the Palestinian people themselves decide is good. That’s who you have to convince for this strategy to be a win regardless of what the Palestinian leadership or Israeli leadership thinks of it. If it’s some half assed wishy washy BS, then the Palestinian leadership can deny it with impunity, the Palestinian people will be more pissed off than ever and the world will also know that once again we didn’t make a good faith effort. So It’s pointless to even start this process unless they think they have something pretty big to offer. The other possibility is that whatever “carrot/deal” they tried to put together didn’t come off. I’m sure there is a lot of arm twisting going on with whatever deal they hope to make simply because it’s going to have to include at least half the Arab world to work.
The only thing that the Palestinian people want is to live in their land. Anything less than a return of the land and the right of return is an insult.
Americans and especially Trump think that everything can be bought and everyone has a price.
They will learn that this is not the case.
Not even the poorest Palestinian will accept money in return for them giving up their rights.
Lots of articles out there why this is already rejected by both Jordan and Palestine. Btw, it didn’t even include Gaza.
Of course it does not include Gaza. Dividing up the Palestinians into ever smaller packets is a key Israeli goal. There are over twice as many Palestinians as Israeli Jews, if you count up all of them including refugee camps and diaspora working elsewhere and sending back money.
but will try to be “fair” to the Palestinians.
Much as a zookeeper tries to be “fair” to caged animals, who receive demonstrably better treatment.
Nothing Trump has to offer will be acceptable to the world community.
What a surprise!What else have Adelson, Bibi and Jared decided, to help the poor victims of the only democracy in the region????
The American people have gotten extraordinarily tired of the demands, bullying, and blackmail the American government has received from the fully nuclear armed, viciously apartheid, theocracy which is what Israel has become in the 21st century.
And we have one word for you: enough!!
We will provide you no more American military to get slaughtered or maimed for life in the process of “neutralizing” all your alleged existential threats in the Middle East. And of course, as we both know, that includes all of your neighbors in the region.
And on top of that, sir, we would appreciate it greatly if the US government immediately pull all financial and military aid from your country immediately, as all this aid is completely illegal under the Symington Amendment.
We the people would like to see this accomplished and immediately, sir. The days of the host/parasite relationship between the Us government and that of Israel may well be coming to a very abrupt halt, and it is damn well about time, sir!!!
Why does anyone waste words or bandwidth writing ANYTHING related to “peace plans” between Israel and anyone? The only peace that will ever be achieved there is after someone drops a dozen nukes on that country. Why waste any more words?