On the 28 January 2020 Trump and Netanyahu presented the long awaited ‘Peace to Prosperity’ plan at the White House, subtitled as ‘a vision to improve the lives of Palestinian and Israeli people’. No Palestinians were present. And the timing was impeccable: while Trump is facing impeachment, Netanyahu has been indicted for corruption while leading a minority government.
The plan marks a monumental shift away from the already compromised international consensus that the 1967 borders should be the basis of any peace discussion. The deal makes clear that all the concessions demanded of Palestinians, including the right of refugee return, the status of Jerusalem, the shut-down of UNRWA, the annexation of the Jordan valley and the fact that settlements will no longer be referred to as contraventions of international law are all imminent.
Any potential Palestinian benefits from the deal, on the other hand, including a proposed $50 billion of investment into a so-called Palestinian ‘state’ are all contingent on future negotiations. It is also telling that the peace plan has yet to be released in translation either in Arabic or Hebrew.
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