President Donald Trump on Tuesday will unveil, what he says is a peace plan capable of solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, ignoring all accusations by the Palestinians of pro-Israeli bias.
The plan will be jointly aired by Trump and visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House.
Given that it has been rejected by the Palestinians, the latest of many US proposals to address the bitter, multi-generational Mideast conflict might seem to have little future.
As per Israeli reports, Trump's plan would allow annexation of a large part of the West Bank, including most of the Jewish settlements there. Netanyahu's political rival Benny Gantz is also visiting Washington and Trump hopes that with cooperation from both Gantz and Netanyahu, the plan will get some momentum.
Gantz, head of the Blue and White party told Trump not to push to implement the so-called “Deal of the Century” before the March 2 elections. He also called the deal a historic milestone and said that he will work towards implementing it after the elections.
Trump, whose impeachment trial in the Senate is entering a critical phase, said his plan was getting widespread support from "many of the Arab nations" and claimed that even Palestinians would come round to the idea.
Trump also said that whatever happens, both him and Netanyahu, who is facing corruption charges at home will be able to reap political benefits.
"It's very good for them, in fact, it's overly good for them," Trump told reporters. "We think we will have ultimately the support of the Palestinians."
Netanyahu, praising Trump as "the greatest friend that Israel's had in the White House," described the peace plan as "the deal of the century."
Palestinians are opposing the plan as they fear that it will make their push for an independent state, that includes the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem impossible. The plan includes a new map with borders that could give Israel sovereignty over much of the Jordan valley. The plan that was developed under the oversight of Trump's advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner, pushes for demilitarization and recognition of Israeli as a Jewish state. And the annexation of West Bank settlements to Israel would allow for maximum territory with minimum non-Israeli residents and allow Palestinians to live in their demilitarized state.
Trump said that the plan is an opportunity for peace. The plan also includes breaking with international diplomatic consensus to recognize the disputed city of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which were seized from neighbouring Syria, and ending opposition to Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land.
Last Thursday, Trump described the still-unpublished peace plan as "great" and said it "really would work." Palestinian leaders have warned that instead of bringing peace, the plan could trigger their withdrawal from key provisions of the decades-old Oslo Accords, which sought to map out peaceful Israeli-Palestinian relations.
"Trump's plan is the plot of the century to liquidate the Palestinian cause," the Palestinian foreign ministry said in a statement.
