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January 29, 2020

President Trump releases his Middle East 'Peace to Prosperity' plan

By Andrea Widburg

President Trump is trying to do what many other presidents have tried unsuccessfully to do: stop Palestinian efforts to try to drive Jews from Israel and claim the land of Israel for their own.

On Tuesday, with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his side, and with approval from Netanhayu's political rival, Benny Gantz, Trump unveiled his plan, which he calls "Peace to Prosperity : A Vision to Improve the Lives of the Palestinian and Israeli People."

The vision, said Trump in his prepared remarks, "is fundamentally different from past proposals" because it's not just a goal, but is instead a detailed 80-page plan for a two-state solution.  It calls for Israel to cede some territory to the Palestinians.  In return, Israel will get security, control over the Golan Heights, sovereignty in Judea and Samaria, and Jerusalem's continued status as Israel's undivided capital.

As for the Palestinians, under his plan, said Trump, they will have a state twice the size of their current territory, a tunnel connecting Gaza and the West Bank, a capital of their own in East Jerusalem (complete with a U.S. embassy), the maintenance of the status quo on the Temple Mount, and a $50-billion commercial investment in the new Palestinian state:

Over the next 10 years, if executed well, 1 million great new Palestinian jobs will be created.  Their poverty rate will be cut in half.  And their poverty rate is unacceptable now and only getting worse.  Their GDP will double and triple.  And much-needed hope, joy, opportunity, and prosperity will finally arrive for the Palestinian people.

Our vision will end the cycle of Palestinian dependency upon charity and foreign aid.  They will be doing phenomenally all by themselves.  They are a very, very capable people.  (Applause.)  And we will help by empowering the Palestinians to thrive on their own.  Palestinians will be able to seize the new future with dignity, self-sufficiency, and national pride.

In exchange for these benefits, Trump emphasized that the Palestinians must change their ways:

To ensure a successful Palestinian state, we are asking the Palestinians to meet the challenges of peaceful co-existence.  (Applause.)  This includes adopting basic laws enshrining human rights; protecting against financial and political corruption; stopping the malign activities of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other enemies of peace; ending the incitement of hatred against Israel — so important; and permanently halting the financial compensation to terrorists.

Trump pointed out that he'd already recognized Israel's needs by relocating the U.S. embassy and recognizing Israel's control over the Golan Heights, Judea, and Samaria.  The proposed plan now gives something to the Palestinians.  However, Trump threw in a cheerfully delivered threat that the plan represents the Palestinians' last chance to get what they claim to want: a state of their own.

Ilhan Omar (of course) was the first out of the box saying that the plan is a no-go:

Omar's reflexive, shallow tweet is consistent with the Palestinian view.  Critics are complaining that Palestinian Authority dictator Mahmoud Abbas wasn't involved in the plan, but the reality is that he has refused even to talk to Trump.

Abbas has referred to Trump as "a dog, son of a b----, a violent man who wants to force us into a program we're not interested in."  Instead of negotiating, Abbas called for greater violence (a call ISIS has answered):

They called me from Washington and I did not pick up the phone. I said no and I will continue to say no[.] ... We are going for difficult days and we are beginning to bear the consequences of the refusal. Resistance must be escalated at all points of friction. All young people must be encouraged.

Trump, Netanyahu, and Gantz are no fools.  They all know that the Palestinians do not want peace — they want a one-state plan that requires that all Jews be eliminated from the Middle East.  Netanyahu and Gantz probably hope (and may already know) that Trump, having offered a good plan and made clear that refusing it would be a serious mistake, will no longer try to balance Palestinian and Israeli interests.  He'll be on Israel's side and might even use economic sanctions to destroy Abbas and Hamas.

President Trump is trying to do what many other presidents have tried unsuccessfully to do: stop Palestinian efforts to try to drive Jews from Israel and claim the land of Israel for their own.

On Tuesday, with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his side, and with approval from Netanhayu's political rival, Benny Gantz, Trump unveiled his plan, which he calls "Peace to Prosperity : A Vision to Improve the Lives of the Palestinian and Israeli People."

The vision, said Trump in his prepared remarks, "is fundamentally different from past proposals" because it's not just a goal, but is instead a detailed 80-page plan for a two-state solution.  It calls for Israel to cede some territory to the Palestinians.  In return, Israel will get security, control over the Golan Heights, sovereignty in Judea and Samaria, and Jerusalem's continued status as Israel's undivided capital.

As for the Palestinians, under his plan, said Trump, they will have a state twice the size of their current territory, a tunnel connecting Gaza and the West Bank, a capital of their own in East Jerusalem (complete with a U.S. embassy), the maintenance of the status quo on the Temple Mount, and a $50-billion commercial investment in the new Palestinian state:

Over the next 10 years, if executed well, 1 million great new Palestinian jobs will be created.  Their poverty rate will be cut in half.  And their poverty rate is unacceptable now and only getting worse.  Their GDP will double and triple.  And much-needed hope, joy, opportunity, and prosperity will finally arrive for the Palestinian people.

Our vision will end the cycle of Palestinian dependency upon charity and foreign aid.  They will be doing phenomenally all by themselves.  They are a very, very capable people.  (Applause.)  And we will help by empowering the Palestinians to thrive on their own.  Palestinians will be able to seize the new future with dignity, self-sufficiency, and national pride.

In exchange for these benefits, Trump emphasized that the Palestinians must change their ways:

To ensure a successful Palestinian state, we are asking the Palestinians to meet the challenges of peaceful co-existence.  (Applause.)  This includes adopting basic laws enshrining human rights; protecting against financial and political corruption; stopping the malign activities of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other enemies of peace; ending the incitement of hatred against Israel — so important; and permanently halting the financial compensation to terrorists.

Trump pointed out that he'd already recognized Israel's needs by relocating the U.S. embassy and recognizing Israel's control over the Golan Heights, Judea, and Samaria.  The proposed plan now gives something to the Palestinians.  However, Trump threw in a cheerfully delivered threat that the plan represents the Palestinians' last chance to get what they claim to want: a state of their own.

Ilhan Omar (of course) was the first out of the box saying that the plan is a no-go:

Omar's reflexive, shallow tweet is consistent with the Palestinian view.  Critics are complaining that Palestinian Authority dictator Mahmoud Abbas wasn't involved in the plan, but the reality is that he has refused even to talk to Trump.

Abbas has referred to Trump as "a dog, son of a b----, a violent man who wants to force us into a program we're not interested in."  Instead of negotiating, Abbas called for greater violence (a call ISIS has answered):

They called me from Washington and I did not pick up the phone. I said no and I will continue to say no[.] ... We are going for difficult days and we are beginning to bear the consequences of the refusal. Resistance must be escalated at all points of friction. All young people must be encouraged.

Trump, Netanyahu, and Gantz are no fools.  They all know that the Palestinians do not want peace — they want a one-state plan that requires that all Jews be eliminated from the Middle East.  Netanyahu and Gantz probably hope (and may already know) that Trump, having offered a good plan and made clear that refusing it would be a serious mistake, will no longer try to balance Palestinian and Israeli interests.  He'll be on Israel's side and might even use economic sanctions to destroy Abbas and Hamas.