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Trump's Middle East Peace Plan Is Neither a Plan nor Will It Lead to Peace

(WASHINGTON, D.C. 06/24/2019)—Over the weekend, the Trump administration unveiled the economic component of its much-touted “Deal of the Century” in the form of a 40-page document on the White House website and an economic workshop in Bahrain this week that calls for a $50 billion economic plan to achieve “peace and prosperity” for Palestinians over the next ten years. Expectedly, this peace plan, which some critics have argued resembles a “real estate developer’s brochure,” fails to address the core causes of Palestinian suffering and instead aims to bribe them into total capitulation.  

The plan makes no mention of the Israeli occupation, its continued ethnic cleansing policies, or of its repeated human rights violations against the Palestinian people. As the primary author of this proposal, Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kusher, demonstrates a fundamental ignorance of or disregard for the political realities on the ground that would doom this plan from the start. What type of infrastructure does Kushner expect Palestinians could enjoy while Israel controls their water resources, roads, and routinely demolishes government buildings and homes? What about Israel’s ongoing colonization of Area C in the West Bank? Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already vowed to begin annexing the West Bank in violation of international law, a move that is shamefully supported by U.S. Amb. David Friedman. Given these real obstacles, Kushner’s “vision” will remain imaginary since there is no practical implementation and no legitimacy in a plan that completely skirts Palestinian rights and demands for self-determination.   

The Trump administration seeks to reduce four generations of Palestinians’ struggle for freedom to an economic issue and offers no political solution. Rather, it has enabled Israel’s aggression and liquidated what little remained of Palestinian rights. In this tone-deaf plan and attempt to bribe the Palestinian people into submission—using unguaranteed Arab Gulf money—Trump’s team proves once more its willingess to protect Israel at all costs and without having to foot the bill. 

As long as Israel, with the support of the U.S., continues to occupy, commit war crimes against, subjugate, blockade, and control the Palestinian people, there will never be economic prosperity or peace in the region. Any plan that ignores Israel’s crimes and overlooks Palestinian rights is doomed to fail. Palestine and its people are not and will not ever be for sale. AMP condemns this farce of a deal as Zionist at its core. As history has shown, Palestinians will never give up on their rights or abandon their quest for freedom, justice, and dignity. 

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