Tag: Palestine

How Trump’s Mideast peace plan could actually matter

Few Middle East analysts expect an Israeli-Palestinian deal anytime soon. But the Trump plan could have long-lasting consequences.

President Donald Trump’s Mideast peace proposal may be dead on arrival, as critics like to say. But the plan could also have the long-term effect of seriously circumscribing — at a minimum — future U.S. attempts to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The proposal unveiled Tuesday, which was overseen by Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, is heavily sided toward Israel. Although it does not rule out a future Palestinian state as some feared, it lays out tough conditions for Palestinians to meet before being granted statehood. And the vision for the state’s borders is highly unlikely to be accepted by the Palestinians.

Standing beside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the president said Tuesday that the plan, titled “Peace to Prosperity,” was a “win-win” path for both sides. But he also warned that his proposal “could be the last opportunity” for the Palestinians to achieve their goals after more than 70 years of conflict. Continue reading.

Palestinian leader rejects US role in peace process

The following article by Zeynep Bilginsoy and Sarah El Deeb was posted on the Associated Press website December 13, 2017:

ISTANBUL (AP) — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told an international summit Wednesday that the United States was unfit to mediate the Mideast conflict, marking a major policy shift after decades spent courting American goodwill.

He announced the shift, which came in response to President Donald Trump’s declaration of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, at a summit of Muslim leaders that condemned the U.S. move and called for world recognition of a Palestinian state with its capital in east Jerusalem. Continue reading “Palestinian leader rejects US role in peace process”

Legal impact of Trump’s Jerusalem decision still murky

The following article by Tracy WIlkinson was posted on the Los Angeles Times website December 7, 2017:

Credit: Associated Press

Administration officials sought Thursday to clarify President Trump’s declaration of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel but raised more questions than they answered.

David Satterfield, acting assistant secretary of State for Near East affairs, said that although the United States recognizes Jerusalem as the capital, it has taken no position on what the contested city’s borders ultimately should be.

That would seem to leave open the possibility that part of the city could still belong to the Palestinians, as they have long claimed — or not. Continue reading “Legal impact of Trump’s Jerusalem decision still murky”