Bibi Natanyahu was formally indicted today back home in Israel but he and Sarah were there in the WH to celebrate their victory by joining Trump in making a deal over the heads of the Palestinians.
The Palestinians are offered very little in this final reconciliation between the US and the forces of Zionisn within and without the US. If the sons and daughters of Ishmael (look it up) behave and cooperate with their Israeli guardians, they will be rewarded with development money intended to comfort them in their helotry. Trump did say to Bibi at the ceremony that Bibi would have the Palestinian money with which to influence future events, but perhaps that was merely clumsy. Trump also referred to "Israel's Holy Land." I suppose that still leaves open the possibility of "religious tourism" as the Israelis call pilgrimage?
In Trump's plan Israel will forever control a strip of territory along the Jordanian border as sovereign to themselves. But, in return the Palestinian "state" might receive an embassy from the US, located in "eastern" Jerusalem. I suppose that would be out in that valley to the east that the mandatory British government included as being within the boundaries of Jerusalem.
Trump seems really to think that Palestinians are like stray dogs who will lick your hand if you give them something, anything, to eat. Perhaps that is the general attitude in New York City.
Mahmoud Abbas has stated that his side will not accept this, but at least there is peace between the US and Israel. pl
So Trump has elevated himself as a Muktar for Bibi as well as MBS. Hmmm…… We saw him dancing the sword dance with MBS’s servants, guess we will now see him dancing the Horah for Bibi.
This whole scenario smacks of the Keystone Cops segment, without the laugh track.
So this is the result of three years of effort from Jarred? At least he hasn’t been working on the economy. Does Trump really think the Palestinians are going to unilaterally disarm, have their borders controlled by the IDF with future cross border inspections run by the same folks doing so now, all in exchange for some nebulous funding and promises of some land swaps? It might serve as a distraction from Bibi’s troubles but I can’t see anyone taking this “deal” seriously.
I’m much taken by the two bumps of territory along the Egypt/Israel border that stick out like sore-thumbs in Trump’s let’s-pretend map.
Where will the Palestinians come from to inhabit those “industrial” and “residential” parcels of land?
I suspect that those two bumps of land represent the two bantustans that are going to be created (out of thin-air, apparently) specifically to house “Israeli Arabs”.
If I’m right then Trump’s plan is simply Apartheid on steroids.
The possibility of a formal, however unreal, Palestinian state is being cast [so as not to anger those to the right of Netanyahu] as something for the future if all goes well. As for the money, it is to be geared towards tying the Palestinians even tighter into the economy of Israel than has been the case since the Oslo accords.
No, it cannot fly and certainly not with Jordan. The King of Saudi Arabia [not MbS, I note] called Mahmoud Abbas to state that his country stands firm behind the Palestinians. Of course, the proposed “Steal of the Century” is a non-starter for Jordan. What actually is done unilaterally by Israel could actually put into jeopardy some or all of the peace agreement between Jordan and Israel.
Netanyahu made clear that the issue of the ’48 refugees is not theirs to solve. There is one far out idea being shaped by the Saudis/Israelis/the US/and some Sunni leaders in Anbar as a bonus to their plan of separating Sunni territories from the Shia dominated state, using the legal methods employed by the KRG. That is to settle any stateless Palestinians looking for a place to live to move to sparsely populated Anbar. The immediate impetus for this developing plan is a way to maintain troops in Iraq even if ordered out by the Baghdad government. Anbar abuts Sunni dominated areas of Syria the US sees as critical to its policies.
The question now is just how vindictive Trump will be when the Palestinians say not. He has already taken away assistance, so it might be in the form of green-lighting more dramatic actions by Israel. And what will various other players in the region and around the globe do?
As for an “embassy” in the outer areas of Jerusalem, this is, I assume, Israel’s way of saying forget about any PA capital, even if it is in Abu Dis.
Nice plan for a change.Definitely got potential for the long term.Once the old guard hit forgetful age the youth can look forward to a peaceful coexistence.Gaza linked to the westbank is a great idea.
Politically this is the best possible scenario.The arab side should be aware after soliemani that trump and co.mean business.Probably same applies to Israeli leadership.Unless anyone has a better solution that does not involve war this is the deal worth supporting.
Only God can bring peace to that part of the world.
My immediate thought after reading this post was of the last lines of Moby-Dick. It comes from the only survivor of the Pequod: “Call me Ishmael.”
I’m praying that Melville was not prescient in his assessment of our society.
IMHO the mindset and agenda behind this is as follows:
-Offer the Palestinians something they only can refuse
-Then say those damn Palestinians dont want peace, we tried it, they dont even want to discuss our very generous terms (sic)
-Then the Nethanyahus and fellow imperial Zionists take this narrative to claim talking with Palestinians will never work
-Which then will open up the road for their long term plan to totally and forever reject any rights of the Palestinians, and go full force into annexing all they can get
-Peace process will be officially buried forever
That is the true purpose of this charade. It is not some naive plan to bring peace, but to give the Likudniks what they have dreamed of for so long: To not having to give even the smallest shit about internationa law, to never having to be bothered with it, and just rely totally on the military force to expand their growing regional-imperial ambitions.
It sadly will work as intended.
@james – Do you not know that making such a comparison is a hate crime? You are (for now) permitted to make a comparison between contemporary Israeli policy and the creation of South Africa’s colonial Bantustans. However, I’m sure the Strategic Affairs Ministry are on it and will shortly arrange for this too to be denoted as hateful expression.
I am pleased to see our visitor @anon recognize the workability of the plan. His paymasters in Tel Aviv will be happy. FYI there are many who have a better solution in mind. These groups can often be recognized by “al-Quds” somewhere in their name. All of them are perfectly happy to consider warfare as the means of implementing their plan.
سال بعد در اورشلیم
Translation here
someone said israel is like nazi germany… the analogy seems to fit..
Posted by: james | 28 January 2020 at 07:32 PM
The occupying entity in Palestine have surpassed nazi-Germany`s war crimes decades ago,, the nakba the continuos genocide in and around the occupied territories the assasinations and terror bombing around the entire M.E… But i see your point and agree.
What is telling is that with the exception of Turkey and Iran against and UK for this deal. It has been absolutely crickets chirping in the international community. All that money the US poured into building Israel up has worked. Every one including the UNSC members who voted for Obama’s last stop measure at the UN are ready to trade the Palestinians lives for access to the tech in Israel.
This deal will only bring more misery on both sides.
Dear Colonel,
The plan also promises ports, which appear unconnected from any Palestinian territory – I guess there will be a “Palestinian building” surrounded by Israeli customs on an Israeli port?
One wonders how much whiskey (or whatever Israeli’s drink) was required to come up with such an evidently lame plan (maybe it was a first year intern)? Hmm what was Jared’s budget to develop it?
Transactional Trump clearly believes that the Palestinians (are naive enough) to sell out for a promise of $$ – as if such promises are worth more than the paper of Native American treaties. Funny, thing, though, with the Fed printing $16 trillion for the Repo market since Sept., the Fed could slip an extra trillion or so into the mix allowing Trump to make a real offer (which would be hard to campaign on).
So many small minds here who cant envision a Gaza strip filled with Trump casinos and towers. With the right tax structure it could be the next Monte Carlo. Perhaps a bullet train to the West Bank.
Of course it might not work as a democracy, but a royal family could fix that. Perhaps Prince Harry, or Jared? Ivanka could make a fine queen.
”The proposals laid out by President Trump yesterday seemingly cement “unshakeable, unbreakable” U.S. support for Israel by offering the Israeli government unconditional American support for immediate annexation of land in the West Bank, while conditioning and constraining Palestinian self-determination to meet any and all Israeli security needs.”
When pray tell are Americans going to find their balls and refuse to have their country used by that little outlaw country’ and our treasonous Fifth Column Politicians?
Really, to think we once threw out King George and now we are reduced to being drooling eunuchs in service to a foreign and domestic cancer.
“Caedite eos. Novit enim Dominus qui sunt eius.”
HK Leo Strauss
IMO the Israelis who are overwhelmingly a tribal and exclusionist people will never allow Palestinian prosperity.
The residential and industrial areas appear on the map to be in the Sinai Desert on the Israeli side. Originally, consideration was given to providing Gaza with land on what is now the Egyptian side of their mutual border, but the public reaction made Sisi rule it out. That original plan assumed that West Bankers would want to move there to work and live as well as Palestinian refugees from elsewhere. It was to be part of the grand plan by Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia to “solve” the Palestinian problem through industrial development and employment. This new apparition would seem to imply that Israel was willing to add a couple of additional carefully guarded bantustans to the current mix. My suggestion is that if the Israelis wanted to help someone, it might be better to allow the native Bedouin who have been forcefully uprooted from their traditional grazing lands.
A couple of comments about this trump farce Peace Plan.
1- Trump keeps saying the Palestinian capital will be East Jerusalem. This is not true, the Palestinian capital that the plan specifies will be in Abu Dis, just outside East Jerusalem and in fact on the other side of the wall surrounding East Jerusalem.
2 – The 3 little bumps of territory along the Egyptian border allocated to the Palestinian state are now heavily populated by Israeli Arabs. If this plan goes through, they will lose their Israeli citizenship and travel rights to Israel proper. This is done to reduce the Arab portion of Israeli citizens making Israel even more Jewish.
3- The annexation of the Jordan Valley takes away the breadbasket of the Palestinians. It is far and away ther most fertile land in either Israel or the West Bank.
4 – Israsel will still have complete security control of every part of the West Bank which means Palestinian travel between their bantustans will be subject to IDF approval.
5 – The $50 billion in illusionary aid is suppossed to be divided between Egypt, Lebanon, Syria etc. It is an open question how much will remain for the West Bank.
Allow prosperity for the Palestinians? They view the Palestinians as little more than chattel under their feet. It’s documented that the IDF’s head Rabbi said so openly. And any Jew who dares to stand up against their aggression against the Palestinians, are labeled as a self-hating Jew.
Sheldon Adelson and prominent Zionist leaders were present for Trump Deal. But not one Palestinian. I don’t believe that the Palestinians were invited.
BraveNewWorld – I don’t agree with you about Israeli tech being so attractive. I visit at least once a year having relatives there and am always surprised at how low tech the country actually is. My son works in that industry as well as my Wife’s nephew and they are talking about stuff which is fairly out of date. Maybe they have something unseen by society but in general it is not particularly high tech at all.
William Polk has a nice article by Gershon Baskin of what the future could bring. I find it a quite plausible prediction. The legislation for confiscating Palestinian property in Jerusalem is in place.
“Encountering Peace: Have We No Shame?”
http://www.williampolk.com/assets/israel–yesterday%2c-today-and-tomorrow.pdf
J,
I don’t believe Trump was invited either:
“Kushner and Greenblatt have limited the plan’s distribution over the two years they have been crafting it. It has been kept secret “to ensure people approach it with an open mind” when it is released, a senior administration official said.
“Only four people have regular access – Kushner, Greenblatt, U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman and Kushner aide Avi Berkowitz, the official said.”
What’s the common denominator among these men here? The nose knows.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-palestinian-trump/in-leaky-white-house-trump-team-keeps-middle-east-peace-plan-secret-idUSKCN1RM2GQ
Or for the Golan decision:
“Speaking at the Republican Jewish Coalition gathering in Las Vegas, Trump said he made the snap decision during a discussion with his top Middle East peace advisers, including the U.S. ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, and son-in-law Jared Kushner.
“I said, ‘Fellows, do me a favor. Give me a little history, quick. Want to go fast. I got a lot of things I’m working on: China, North Korea. Give me a quickie,” Trump said to laughter from the Las Vegas crowd.
“‘How do you like the idea of me recognizing exactly what we’re discussing?’” said Trump, recounting the conversation.
Trump, who typically demands short sharp briefings and is known for his colorful retelling of stories, said Friedman was shocked, “like a wonderful, beautiful baby,” and asked the President if he would actually do it.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-israel/trump-says-he-made-golan-heights-decision-after-a-quick-history-lesson-idUSKCN1RI0N7
A wonderful, beautiful baby INDEED.
@ Fred
But Jared is so serious about himself or as we say it , FULL of HIMSELF. Check these 2 articles
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/01/jared-kushner-peace-plan-palestinians?fbclid=IwAR3HCbwluVpKhCAUc50ro-kWiQGmcytfaFCr_QF1N_ITTKbwQmKSLivrjP4
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/01/jared-kushner-expects-palestine-to-screw-up-his-peace-deal.html
Heck , after reading 25 books since January 2017 he is an expert on the region 🙂
The same real estate wannabee who in November 2016 didn’t about the ME and asked the UAE Ambassador Otaiba to explain everything to him on a white board
Beaver,
I suspect he read the demographic map kind of like jdledell points out in line 2 & 3 of his comments. If he didn’t, well at least OMB kept him busy for a couple of years.