US President Donald Trump has presented his long-awaited so-called Middle East peace plan, promising to keep Jerusalem as Israel’s undivided capital. He proposed an independent Palestinian State and the recognition of Israeli sovereignty over West Bank settlements.
The circumstances in which the plan was presented and its salient features make it abundantly clear that it was nothing but a farcical move rightly described by a senior analyst as an ‘assault on peace’. The United States has always done the Israeli bidding as far as Middle East dispute is concerned as it provided shield to the illegitimate actions of the Zionist State but Trump has even discarded the formality of engaging or consulting Palestinians and unfolded a plan that is entirely pro-Israel. The very fact that its details, drafted under the stewardship of President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, made public by President Trump with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu standing by his side spoke volumes about ‘neutrality’ of the plan, which was instantly and understandably welcomed by Tel Aviv but firmly and rightly rejected by all segments of the Palestinian people. President Trump has claimed that his plan is a win-win solution for both sides but this is, in fact, a formula for perpetuation of illegal occupation of Palestinian lands by the Jewish State. Why Palestinians would even listen to a proposal that envisages whole of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, legitimizes illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian land, closes doors on return of Palestinian refugees and seeks to disarm the Palestinian State so that it remains at the mercy of Israel? The plan is, in fact, next move after shifting of the US embassy to Jerusalem, a decision that was criticized by the whole world. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed the plans as a “conspiracy” firmly stating that neither Jerusalem nor rights of Palestinian people were for sale or bargain. The plan has overturned aspirations of Palestinians and with the passage of time it is becoming clear to them that the US was not an honest broker. Regrettably, Trump would always share the blame of siding so brazenly with the wrong side and perpetuation of injustice being done to Palestinians.
