Dr Muhammad Khan
The plan outline as; the occupied Jordan Valley will be under Israeli control. Besides, the illegal Israeli settlements in West Bank will come under the Israeli sovereignty. As a deceit Gaza will be linked to West Bank by a road. This plan provides Palestinians much less territory than what they were offered from 1979 to various Oslo Accords. Freezing of Israeli settlements for four years is yet another deceit for annexing the huge area by Zionist State. The Plan also include, “approximately 97% of Israelis in the West Bank will be incorporated into contiguous Israeli territory, and approximately 97% of Palestinians in the West Bank” will be incorporated into contiguous Palestinian territory, the biggest cheat, inbuilt in the plan.
As per this so-called two-state solution, the Trump’s Vision, Palestinian state will consist of; ‘the West Bank and Gaza connected by a combination of roads and tunnels’. Israel would retain sovereignty over Gaza’s territorial waters. The future capital of the Palestinian state will be Abu Dis, a neighbourhood on the outskirts of Jerusalem and beyond the separation wall. Five years earlier, Palestinians were promised an arrangement, autonomy in a five-year transition period that followed the Oslo agreements. Nevertheless, this plan was not materialized too. However, Israeli continued its expansion, through its illegal settlements, which are being legalized now.
The Middle Eastern masses are of the strong opinion that, apart from State of Israel and its founding states (Britain and France) “United States is responsible for all destruction in the Arab world.” However the ruling class of this unfortunate landmass consider this deceitful power as their comrade and protector. This is most unfortunate that, there is a clear division among Muslim of this historical land in to two classes; the majority 98% Muslims may be called as ‘Muslim Streets’ thinks US, Israel and former colonial powers as their foes while the minority 2% may be called as ‘Muslim Elites’ of Middle East take them as their defenders. Since the region is dominated by monarchs and authoritarian rule, therefore the powerful take the decisions, which neither suits the regional state nor the majority masses of this ill-fated region. The decisions of these Middle Eastern authoritarian elites suits either for their power centres or else their masters in Washington, Tel Aviv, London and Paris. After fully buying the allegiances of these Middle Eastern elites, United States backed the State of Israel for unleashing a reign of terror over the innocent and unarmed Palestinians.
As a prelude, the nature of Arab-Israel conflict in Middle East was changed. The conflict was surreptitiously retitled as the Israel-Palestine issue with a limited scope and all Arab states back-off from supporting the Palestinians. This gave free hand to criminal and illegal Zionist Israeli State to brutalize the Palestinians, simultaneously occupying their land through illegal settlements. In its so-called Middle Eastern Peace Plan, President Trump has asked the Palestinians to surrender these illegal settlements to Zionist State. It was shocking that, representatives of some of the Middle Eastern states were present as supports at White House while President Trump was announcing this shameful Peace Plan. Other monarchs have given Washington and Tel Aviv their tacit approval of this deceitful peace plan.
The salient feature of President Trump’s Middle Eastern Peace Plan is, further reducing the space for Palestinians while expanding the territory of Zionist Israeli State in Middle East. This so-called Peace Plan was announced by President Trump on January 28, 2020 at White House in the presence of Israeli Prime Minister, Netanyahu. In the wordings of the ‘the Guardian’ President Trumps Middle East Peace Plan “emphasises Israel’s security rather than Palestinian self-determination.” In fact, the plan securitized the illegal occupation and insured the legal occupants of this holy land.
This undesired and illegal act of President Trump is directly undermining the UN Charter and UN resolutions on this dispute. ‘The principle of self-determination is prominently embodied in Article I of the UN Charter. As per this Principle, All peoples have the right to self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.’ Trump’s plan is contradicting this golden principle which became a reason for decolonization of the world from former colonial powers. What the Palestinians demand a restoration of Pre-1967 war arrangement or to be more specific the areas as outlined through UN resolution number 181 dated 29 November, 1947. The Palestinian Authority (PA) under President Mahmood Abbas has rejected this peace plan, and has demand pre-1967 arrangements. PA has announced cutting-off all ties with US and Israel including the security related joint arrangements. President Mahmood Abbas attended the emergency meeting of Arab League and decided to continue fight against illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian land. Pakistan supports the Palestinian cause on logical grounds that protect the right of self-determination of Palestinians as per UN resolution 181 and maximum pre-1967 war status.
The Arab world must wake-up now, since it is already too late. The elites of the Middle Eastern region must learn lessons from what has happened to; Iraq, Libya, Syria and Yemen in very recent history. Those provoking them to fight against each other today will have them one by one tomorrow, since its matter of time. Today, there is huge presence of foreign forces on Arab land on the false hypothesis of providing security architecture. The question arise, who is insuring them, if they decides to unite among themselves.
— The writer is Professor of Politics and International Relations at International Islamic University, Islamabad.
