Editorial | Plan for peace more a stunt than a solution
- Trump’s ‘deal of the century’ will do nothing to end the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians and may instead make matters worse
The launch was made the week impeachment proceedings against Trump began in the US Senate and as Israel’s lawmakers were deliberating a request from Netanyahu for immunity from prosecution from charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust. Both face elections, the Israeli leader in March and his American counterpart in November. They are eager to divert attention from their troubles and shore up the support of voters.
Trump, a self-acclaimed deal maker, should know that successful bargaining rests on the possibility of a positive outcome. The plan he put forward makes no such offer for Palestinians, instead promising less than under previous proposals. It retains the idea of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza and tens of billions of dollars of aid. But the root causes of the conflict, the sticking points in past negotiations to an agreement, have been pre-resolved and presented as a permanent solution.
Among them is Jerusalem, including the occupied contested Old City, being the undivided capital of Israel, and the Jewish state annexing the region’s main water source, the Jordan Valley, and its West Bank settlements. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas is in no position to bargain; his government is weak and he has not been talking to the US since 2017. Netanyahu wants to begin the annexation part of the plan as soon as possible.
Negotiations are the only way to bring about peace between Israelis and Palestinians, but without leaders dedicated to such a process, there is little chance of a resumption.