Report: US Peace Plan Would Give Palestinians Most of West Bank

Israel’s Channel 13 has leaked what it says are the contents of President Trump’s “deal of the century” peace plan for Israel and Palestine. The report would grant the Palestinians a state that encompasses 85%-90% of the occupied West Bank.

The plan would be for Israel to keep its settlements, though no longer expanding isolated outposts. Moreover, the plan would mandate Israel evacuate any outposts which are illegal under Israeli law. That’s a big deal, because Israel has recently changed its own laws to facilitate retroactively legalizing a lot of these outposts.

The Palestinian capital would be in East Jerusalem, and the Palestinians would be given “most of the Arab neighborhoods” there. Some areas would also be jointly run by Jordan and Palestine.

The White House is denying that this report is true at all, saying all speculation on the peace plan is inaccurate, and declining to offer any specifics. The US has long promised to make such a plan publicly available, but has yet to do so.

The report said the US believes that the Palestinians will reject the proposal at any rate, which is likely the only reason it is being offered. Though they said they expect Israel to “say yes,” anything that divides Jerusalem would likely be a non-starter for Israel as well. So long as the Palestinians are going to turn it down anyway, Israel would be free to make a show of being willing to discuss the matter, and then blame the Palestinians for the failure.