If anything could bring peace to the Middle East, it would be a deal for the ages. The proposed “Deal of the Century” as reported would give Palestinians the state they’ve been clamoring for over a period of decades. It offers them $50 billion, although we can’t tell you at present where these funds would come from. It puts Jerusalem, and the historical sites under Israeli control and promises to keep them open and available to people of every faith.
The proposed deal is said to double the territory under Palestinian control, while giving them operational control of port facilities located at Haifa and Ashdod. It calls for demilitarization of Gaza and the expectation is that, once peace is established that the “new state” would be recognized for purposes of trade, worldwide.
Some of the foremost proponents of the “Palestinian cause” have been the adjacent Arab states. Under current circumstances however, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain and the UAE had representatives present during President Trump’s proposal. Those very same nations have, in the days following the proposal, attended meetings with the Arab League where they’ve fallen in line with Palestinians’ outrage over terms of the “Deal.”
But who actually governs Gaza and the Palestinian territories? Is it Hamas? Is it “president” Abbas and the Palestinian Authority? Palestinian Arabs immediately responded to the announced proposal by calling for “days of rage.” They’ve rioted in Ramallah, burning American flags and pictures of President Trump. For his part, “president” Abbas has denounced the plan, saying “a thousand times NO!”
It’s not the first time Palestinians have been offered ALMOST everything they demand. They were offered statehood in 1948, and again after the Camp David Accords. Those agreements saw Israel make peace with Egypt and Jordan, and Yassir Arafat was not amused. He demanded control over all of East Jerusalem (which Jordan, under King Hussein already had until 1967) and the Jews driven into the sea. Several Arab countries supported their demands, and the recent history has been nothing but riots and rockets from Gaza with the active support of Iran. The new proposal allows the Palestinians to claim their capitol is Jerusalem, but only allows them to set up a capitol in an Arab community outside the city.
The Washington Post crowed that President Trump had turned the proposal into a real estate deal. They claim that it mimics a speech Prime Minister Netanyahu delivered at an Israeli University in 2009. The infamous Daily Beast (purveyor of the scurrilous anti-Trump dossier) called it the “Deal to End All Peace.” Maybe they haven’t noticed, there’s never been peace.
The “Deal” provides an opportunity for Arab communities on the West Bank to secede from Israel, but it also allows Israel to annex areas that Jews have settled. The Washington Post concludes its article by saying that either Abbas or his successor will ultimately end up having to sign the agreement, arguing that the land will be confiscated by imminent domain anyway, and it would be better if they received compensation under the terms of the proposal.
The Pan-Islamic Organization has already called on all member states to reject the plan. They are sticking to the long-standing demand that Israel return to pre-1967 borders, giving up the Old City and returning the “holy sites” to Islamic control. The UN is about to get involved as well. Any familiarity with past UN votes will show that Israel is basically isolated there, with only the U. S. to veto resolutions that would put the Old City of Jerusalem under Islamic control.
