Trump unveils Mideast peace plan with two-state solution

Bloomberg

President Donald Trump announced what he called a detailed plan for Middle East peace that provides a “win-win” solution to make Israel and the region safer, skirting complaints that Palestinians have already rejected the proposal and didn’t take part in drafting the plan.
Trump said on Tuesday his plan presents a “contiguous” territory for a Palestinian state once conditions are met, including “rejection of terrorism.” The proposal opens a “transition” to a two-state solution that leaves Jerusalem as Israel’s “undivided capital,” Trump said.
“Today Israel takes a big step towards peace,” Trump said at the White House alongside Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu. “My vision presents a win-win opportunity for both sides. There’s nothing tougher than this one, but we have to get it done.”
Trump added that his proposal calls on the Palestinian Authority to adopt “basic laws” on protecting human rights, fighting corruption, stopping activities of Hamas, and stopping incitement against Israel. He said territory destined for Palestinian control would go undeveloped for four years to give space for talks with Israel to progress.
But even before it emerged, the Trump administration’s proposal was criticised by Palestinians and many Mideast analysts for being biased in Israel’s favour and thus unlikely to end the century-old conflict.
And the notion of an “undivided” Jerusalem will anger Palestinians, who have long sought to make east Jerusalem the capital of their future state.
The plan — drafted over the past three years by Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner — gives the Palestinians less than they have been offered in previous plans they’ve rejected, leaving its prospects for success slim.
Trump has long said his administration’s unorthodox approach to Mideast peace was justified because so many previous efforts had failed.
“I was not elected to do small things or shy away from big problems,” Trump said.
But the Palestinians rejected it sight unseen after declaring early in Trump’s presidency that the US was no longer an honest broker in peace talks.
Trump previously broke with international convention on the Mideast by moving the US embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, recognising Israel sovereignty over a portion of the Golan Heights. The administration has also cut off most US aid to the Palestinians.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was due to convene Palestinian leaders
to discuss the plan after its presentation, and to release a statement afterward. “President Abbas, I want you to know that if you choose the path to peace, America and many other countries — we will be there,” Trump said. “We will be there to help you in so many different ways.”