26 jan 2020
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, on Sunday, that US President Donald Trump will publish the “Deal of the Century” plan this week.
During his weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu indicated that he will fly to the United States today, to meet President Trump tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, to discuss the publication of the deal, describing Trump as “the true friend of Israel.”
Netanyahu reiterated his position that this “historic opportunity” comes once in history and should not be missed, adding that “we are in the midst of very exciting events, and they must be seized.”
Meanwhile, he refused to answer a question if he agreed to establish a Palestinian state according to what the plan stipulated, as the seventh Hebrew channel reported.
Israeli Channel 12 in a recent report, said that the announcement of the so-called “peace plan,” at this particular time, is in the interest of both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump and will not achieve peace for the Palestinian side.
The channel added that the Israeli side got acquainted with the most prominent terms and points of the American deal before the Israeli elections, in April 2019, but what is newly apparent is that it may cause a split between Netanyahu and his right-wing partners, on the one hand, and it may cause the joining of Benny Gantz, the leader of Blue-White party to the Israeli unity government on the other hand.
The report emphasized that, “from the first moment, President Trump seemed to be encouraged by the victory of Netanyahu, in the Israeli elections, so that David Friedman, the American ambassador in Tel Aviv, did not hesitate to say that, between the two leaders, Netanyahu and Trump, there is an ideological partnership.”
Also, according to the report, the deal would cancel the Green Line, annex West Bank settlements and the Jordan Valley, and declare to adhere to Jerusalem as a whole, and all of this would happen at the height of a fierce Israeli election campaign.
In addition, it said that “Netanyahu was briefed on Trump’s deal, and he knew that annexation of the valley is contained in its details, while the Americans know very well that announcing the deal of the century will be one of Trump’s cards in his upcoming election campaign, to obtain the support of evangelical Christians in favor of granting Trump a second presidential term in the White House.”
Last Thursday, the White House announced that Trump would host Netanyahu and leader of the “Blue and White” coalition, Benny Gantz, on Tuesday.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has repeatedly declared, over the past two years, Palestinian rejection of the deal, because it takes Jerusalem, refugees and borders from the negotiating table.
During his weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu indicated that he will fly to the United States today, to meet President Trump tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, to discuss the publication of the deal, describing Trump as “the true friend of Israel.”
Netanyahu reiterated his position that this “historic opportunity” comes once in history and should not be missed, adding that “we are in the midst of very exciting events, and they must be seized.”
Meanwhile, he refused to answer a question if he agreed to establish a Palestinian state according to what the plan stipulated, as the seventh Hebrew channel reported.
Israeli Channel 12 in a recent report, said that the announcement of the so-called “peace plan,” at this particular time, is in the interest of both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump and will not achieve peace for the Palestinian side.
The channel added that the Israeli side got acquainted with the most prominent terms and points of the American deal before the Israeli elections, in April 2019, but what is newly apparent is that it may cause a split between Netanyahu and his right-wing partners, on the one hand, and it may cause the joining of Benny Gantz, the leader of Blue-White party to the Israeli unity government on the other hand.
The report emphasized that, “from the first moment, President Trump seemed to be encouraged by the victory of Netanyahu, in the Israeli elections, so that David Friedman, the American ambassador in Tel Aviv, did not hesitate to say that, between the two leaders, Netanyahu and Trump, there is an ideological partnership.”
Also, according to the report, the deal would cancel the Green Line, annex West Bank settlements and the Jordan Valley, and declare to adhere to Jerusalem as a whole, and all of this would happen at the height of a fierce Israeli election campaign.
In addition, it said that “Netanyahu was briefed on Trump’s deal, and he knew that annexation of the valley is contained in its details, while the Americans know very well that announcing the deal of the century will be one of Trump’s cards in his upcoming election campaign, to obtain the support of evangelical Christians in favor of granting Trump a second presidential term in the White House.”
Last Thursday, the White House announced that Trump would host Netanyahu and leader of the “Blue and White” coalition, Benny Gantz, on Tuesday.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has repeatedly declared, over the past two years, Palestinian rejection of the deal, because it takes Jerusalem, refugees and borders from the negotiating table.
24 jan 2020
President says he expects Palestinians might react negatively at first, but insists that 'it's actually very positive for them'; U.S. officials make no mention of inviting Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to Washington along with Israeli leaders
U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday he will release details of his long-delayed peace plan for the Middle East before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue & White leader Benny Gantz visit the White House next week.
The political aspects of the peace initiative have been closely guarded. Only the economic proposals have been unveiled.
Yet details of the plan have apparently emerged, including Israeli annexation of parts of the West Bank and control over the entirety of Jerusalem, whose predominantly Arab eastern neighborhoods the Palestinians want as their capital.
Trump discussed the timing of the plan's release with two architects of the plan, senior advisers Jared Kushner and Avi Berkowitz, on Air Force One while returning to Washington from Switzerland on Wednesday.
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One en route to the Miami area for a political event, Trump said Palestinians might react negatively to his plan at first, but that "it's actually very positive for them."
"It's a great plan," said Trump, who will meet with Netanyahu at the White House on Tuesday. "It's a plan that really would work."
Vice President Mike Pence, on a visit to Jerusalem on Thursday, extended an invitation to Netanyahu and Gantz to make the visit. It was not immediately clear whether Trump would meet the two leaders separately or together.
The Trump Middle East peace proposal is a document, dozens of pages long, that addresses in detail the thorny political issues between Israel and the Palestinians, such as the status of Jerusalem.
U.S. officials made no mention of inviting the Palestinians, and Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said: "We warn Israel and the U.S. administration not to cross any red lines."
Trump indicated his administration had spoken "briefly" to the Palestinians and would speak to them again "in a period of time."
Netanyahu said he had accepted the U.S. invitation. His office said he would fly to the United States on Sunday.
Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, faces political and legal troubles at home - he is heading for his third election in less than a year, and was indicted on criminal charges for bribery, fraud and breach of trust in November. He denies any wrongdoing.
Gantz, a centrist former IDF chief, this week lifted his objection to having the peace plan be published before the March 2 election. He had previously objected to it as interference in the vote.
Long-delayed plan
The launch of Trump's plan to end the decades-long conflict between Israel and the Palestinians has been delayed numerous times over the last two years.
A source familiar with the peace team's thinking said bringing both Netanyahu and Gantz in on the details is aimed at defusing any suggestion that Trump might be favoring one political candidate over another.
Trump is facing his own political clock, preoccupied with his bid for re-election in November, and could ill afford to wait for months for Israel to decide who its next prime minister will be, the source said.
"If we waited we could be in the same position four months from now and never put out the plan," the source said.
The political proposal is the product of three years of work by Kushner, Berkowitz and former envoy Jason Greenblatt. Kushner proposed a $50 billion economic plan for the Middle East last summer at a conference in Bahrain.
Kushner and Berkowitz had been scheduled to visit Israel and Saudi Arabia after attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, this week, but opted instead to discuss the issue with Trump on his flight home, the source said.
Israeli-Palestinian peace talks collapsed in 2014 and Palestinians have called Trump's proposal dead in the water, even before its publication, citing what they see as his pro-Israel policies.
The Trump administration has reversed decades of U.S. policy on the conflict, refraining from endorsing the two-state solution - the longtime international formula which envisages a Palestinian state co-existing with Israel.
It has also recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital and moved its embassy there. More recently, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced in November that the United States no longer viewed Israel's settlements on West Bank land as "inconsistent with international law."
Palestinians and most of the international community view the settlements as illegal under international law. Israel disputes this, citing historical, biblical and political ties to the land, as well as security needs.
Netanyahu announced during an election campaign last September that he intends to annex the Jordan Valley, a large swathe of the West Bank.
Israel captured the West Bank from Jordan in the 1967 Six-Day War and Palestinians, who signed interim peace deals with Israel in the 1990s, seek to make the area part of a future state.
Abbas's Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited self-rule in the West Bank, has publicly refused to engage politically with the Trump administration.
They fear the plan will dash their hopes for an independent state in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.
Trump, who will seek a second term in a Nov. 3 election, faces his own problems at home with Democrats seeking to oust the Republican president on impeachment charges of abusing power and obstructing Congress.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday he will release details of his long-delayed peace plan for the Middle East before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue & White leader Benny Gantz visit the White House next week.
The political aspects of the peace initiative have been closely guarded. Only the economic proposals have been unveiled.
Yet details of the plan have apparently emerged, including Israeli annexation of parts of the West Bank and control over the entirety of Jerusalem, whose predominantly Arab eastern neighborhoods the Palestinians want as their capital.
Trump discussed the timing of the plan's release with two architects of the plan, senior advisers Jared Kushner and Avi Berkowitz, on Air Force One while returning to Washington from Switzerland on Wednesday.
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One en route to the Miami area for a political event, Trump said Palestinians might react negatively to his plan at first, but that "it's actually very positive for them."
"It's a great plan," said Trump, who will meet with Netanyahu at the White House on Tuesday. "It's a plan that really would work."
Vice President Mike Pence, on a visit to Jerusalem on Thursday, extended an invitation to Netanyahu and Gantz to make the visit. It was not immediately clear whether Trump would meet the two leaders separately or together.
The Trump Middle East peace proposal is a document, dozens of pages long, that addresses in detail the thorny political issues between Israel and the Palestinians, such as the status of Jerusalem.
U.S. officials made no mention of inviting the Palestinians, and Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said: "We warn Israel and the U.S. administration not to cross any red lines."
Trump indicated his administration had spoken "briefly" to the Palestinians and would speak to them again "in a period of time."
Netanyahu said he had accepted the U.S. invitation. His office said he would fly to the United States on Sunday.
Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, faces political and legal troubles at home - he is heading for his third election in less than a year, and was indicted on criminal charges for bribery, fraud and breach of trust in November. He denies any wrongdoing.
Gantz, a centrist former IDF chief, this week lifted his objection to having the peace plan be published before the March 2 election. He had previously objected to it as interference in the vote.
Long-delayed plan
The launch of Trump's plan to end the decades-long conflict between Israel and the Palestinians has been delayed numerous times over the last two years.
A source familiar with the peace team's thinking said bringing both Netanyahu and Gantz in on the details is aimed at defusing any suggestion that Trump might be favoring one political candidate over another.
Trump is facing his own political clock, preoccupied with his bid for re-election in November, and could ill afford to wait for months for Israel to decide who its next prime minister will be, the source said.
"If we waited we could be in the same position four months from now and never put out the plan," the source said.
The political proposal is the product of three years of work by Kushner, Berkowitz and former envoy Jason Greenblatt. Kushner proposed a $50 billion economic plan for the Middle East last summer at a conference in Bahrain.
Kushner and Berkowitz had been scheduled to visit Israel and Saudi Arabia after attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, this week, but opted instead to discuss the issue with Trump on his flight home, the source said.
Israeli-Palestinian peace talks collapsed in 2014 and Palestinians have called Trump's proposal dead in the water, even before its publication, citing what they see as his pro-Israel policies.
The Trump administration has reversed decades of U.S. policy on the conflict, refraining from endorsing the two-state solution - the longtime international formula which envisages a Palestinian state co-existing with Israel.
It has also recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital and moved its embassy there. More recently, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced in November that the United States no longer viewed Israel's settlements on West Bank land as "inconsistent with international law."
Palestinians and most of the international community view the settlements as illegal under international law. Israel disputes this, citing historical, biblical and political ties to the land, as well as security needs.
Netanyahu announced during an election campaign last September that he intends to annex the Jordan Valley, a large swathe of the West Bank.
Israel captured the West Bank from Jordan in the 1967 Six-Day War and Palestinians, who signed interim peace deals with Israel in the 1990s, seek to make the area part of a future state.
Abbas's Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited self-rule in the West Bank, has publicly refused to engage politically with the Trump administration.
They fear the plan will dash their hopes for an independent state in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.
Trump, who will seek a second term in a Nov. 3 election, faces his own problems at home with Democrats seeking to oust the Republican president on impeachment charges of abusing power and obstructing Congress.
So-called 'Deal of the Century' includes Palestinian state with no military, control of border or alliances, Israeli sovereignty over all settlements and entirety of Jerusalem, in complete reversal from Clinton plan in 2000
Senior Israeli officials say the details of Donald Trump's long-awaited peace plan, which are now coming to light, were presented to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in recent weeks and the invitation to Washington for a presentation of the plan was arranged in coordination with him.
Netanyahu said he asked that Blue & White leader Benny Gantz be invited as well, possibly in order to foil any opposition from Gantz to the proposed plan.
The invitation next week coincides with Knesset deliberations on the immunity from prosecution requested by Netanyahu, who is facing charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust.
The visit by Israeli officials also coincides with Trump's current impeachment trial in the Senate.
Trump tweeted he is looking forward to welcoming the Israeli leaders to Washington.
The president also said the information reported by the media detailing parts of the plan is incorrect.
Israeli sources who have seen the plan it allows for Israel to annex 30% to 40% of Area C of the West Bank, which is today under Israeli civil and security control. In these areas, Israeli sovereignty will be extended to its settlements alone, including those outside the main blocs and in other areas Israeli rule will include the entire territory.
The U.S. plan suggests Israel immediately extend its sovereignty to all but 15 West Bank settlements to create territorial integrity.
The peace plan also leaves Jerusalem in its entirety in the hands of Israel with the Palestinians given only symbolic access to the city.
This puts an end to Bill Clinton's proposed parameters from 2000, which left the holy basin and the Palestinian neighborhoods of East Jerusalem in the hands of the Palestinian Authority.
Palestinians would be given their own state, though it would be severely restricted. It would not be allowed to have an army, not be permitted to forge alliances with other countries and have no control of its air space or borders.
The Palestinians would also be required to demilitarize the Gaza Strip and disarm its Hamas rulers.
The American plan includes a stated intent to see Jewish refugees who fled Arab countries in parity with Palestinian refugees who fled the nascent Israeli state, therefore negating the need for a solution to the right of return of Palestinian refugees into Israel, though a symbolic number will be allowed to return.
The American plan also suggests a land swap to compensate the Palestinians for some of the territory they stand to lose.
The White House believes the economic plan unveiled in the Bahrain conference in June 2019 will provide an incentive to the Palestinian people, who will demand their leadership sign on to the Deal of the Century.
Sources close to the White House say Trump's son-in-law and aide Jared Kushner has enlisted Sunni countries to pledge $50 billion in aid for the Palestinian Authority.
The Trump team also aimed to create a firewall between the Palestinian leadership and moderate Arab countries in order to foil any attempt to block the proposed plan.
Arab leaders such as the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman reportedly said they had previously wasted money on the Palestinians but that would now change.
The difference between earlier peace plans and the Trump plan is that there are more than two partners to the proposed deal. With the Gulf leaders on board, teh White House believes, the Palestinians will not be able to create a false narrative.
"The past plans were theatre that caused nothing but violence and death," American officials said. "This plan has no dead-line, it will require patience."
Israeli officials, however, believe there is no option of a peace plan succeeding with just one of the sides to the conflict on board.
The administration has been trying to enlist right-wing opinion-makers to support the plan. They are primarily concerned with the reaction of Defense Minister Naftali Bennett, who has already come out against the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Senior Israeli officials say the details of Donald Trump's long-awaited peace plan, which are now coming to light, were presented to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in recent weeks and the invitation to Washington for a presentation of the plan was arranged in coordination with him.
Netanyahu said he asked that Blue & White leader Benny Gantz be invited as well, possibly in order to foil any opposition from Gantz to the proposed plan.
The invitation next week coincides with Knesset deliberations on the immunity from prosecution requested by Netanyahu, who is facing charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust.
The visit by Israeli officials also coincides with Trump's current impeachment trial in the Senate.
Trump tweeted he is looking forward to welcoming the Israeli leaders to Washington.
The president also said the information reported by the media detailing parts of the plan is incorrect.
Israeli sources who have seen the plan it allows for Israel to annex 30% to 40% of Area C of the West Bank, which is today under Israeli civil and security control. In these areas, Israeli sovereignty will be extended to its settlements alone, including those outside the main blocs and in other areas Israeli rule will include the entire territory.
The U.S. plan suggests Israel immediately extend its sovereignty to all but 15 West Bank settlements to create territorial integrity.
The peace plan also leaves Jerusalem in its entirety in the hands of Israel with the Palestinians given only symbolic access to the city.
This puts an end to Bill Clinton's proposed parameters from 2000, which left the holy basin and the Palestinian neighborhoods of East Jerusalem in the hands of the Palestinian Authority.
Palestinians would be given their own state, though it would be severely restricted. It would not be allowed to have an army, not be permitted to forge alliances with other countries and have no control of its air space or borders.
The Palestinians would also be required to demilitarize the Gaza Strip and disarm its Hamas rulers.
The American plan includes a stated intent to see Jewish refugees who fled Arab countries in parity with Palestinian refugees who fled the nascent Israeli state, therefore negating the need for a solution to the right of return of Palestinian refugees into Israel, though a symbolic number will be allowed to return.
The American plan also suggests a land swap to compensate the Palestinians for some of the territory they stand to lose.
The White House believes the economic plan unveiled in the Bahrain conference in June 2019 will provide an incentive to the Palestinian people, who will demand their leadership sign on to the Deal of the Century.
Sources close to the White House say Trump's son-in-law and aide Jared Kushner has enlisted Sunni countries to pledge $50 billion in aid for the Palestinian Authority.
The Trump team also aimed to create a firewall between the Palestinian leadership and moderate Arab countries in order to foil any attempt to block the proposed plan.
Arab leaders such as the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman reportedly said they had previously wasted money on the Palestinians but that would now change.
The difference between earlier peace plans and the Trump plan is that there are more than two partners to the proposed deal. With the Gulf leaders on board, teh White House believes, the Palestinians will not be able to create a false narrative.
"The past plans were theatre that caused nothing but violence and death," American officials said. "This plan has no dead-line, it will require patience."
Israeli officials, however, believe there is no option of a peace plan succeeding with just one of the sides to the conflict on board.
The administration has been trying to enlist right-wing opinion-makers to support the plan. They are primarily concerned with the reaction of Defense Minister Naftali Bennett, who has already come out against the establishment of a Palestinian state.
