Senior Trump administration officials reportedly are crafting a plan for Middle East peace. Based on the details that are available so far, friends of Israel have good reason for concern.According to a front-page New York Times report on Nov. 12, the administration is preparing what it considers to be an "ultimate deal" between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs. There appear to be two phases to the plan.
Phase one will consist of "confidence-building provisions" by each side. The problem is that Israel will be expected to make new concessions, while the Palestinians will be asked to do things that they already committed to do in the Oslo Accords 24 years ago.
In other words, Israel will be forced to pay yet again for the same rug that it bought more than two decades ago.
According to the Times, the "confidence-building" measures Israel will be pressed to take will include halting Jewish construction in most of Judea and Samaria, publicly committing to creation of a Palestinian state, and handing over additional parts of the territories to the Palestinian Authority (PA). All three of those actions go way beyond what the Oslo Accords obligate Israel to do.
And what "confidence-building" gestures will the PA be asked to undertake? "Resuming full security cooperation with Israel"--which the Oslo Accords already required it to do; "holding off seeking further international recognition"--which the Oslo Accords also required it to do; and "ending payments" to families of Palestinian terrorists--which is likewise an Oslo obligation, since the accords prohibit the PA from doing anything to encourage or incite terrorism. Giving out financial rewards for terrorism obviously encourages terrorism.
That's just phase one of Trump's "ultimate plan." Phase two is even worse. The Trump plan, according to the Times, will "be built around the so-called two state solution that has been the core of peacemaking efforts for years." READ MORE
