International [Arab-Israeli Conflict, v4] Israel Sets Goal of Doubling the Jewish Population on the Golan Heights

United Nations condemns "excessive Israeli force", refuses to mention Hamas
Michelle Nichols | June 13, 2018

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UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. General Assembly condemned Israel on Wednesday for excessive use of force against Palestinian civilians and asked U.N. chief Antonio Guterres to recommend an “international protection mechanism” for occupied Palestinian territory.

The General Assembly adopted a resolution with 120 votes in favor, eight against and 45 abstentions. It was put forward in the General Assembly by Algeria, Turkey and the Palestinians after the United States vetoed a similar resolution in the 15-member U.N. Security Council earlier this month.

The General Assembly text condemned the firing of rockets from Gaza into Israeli civilian areas, but did not mention Hamas, the Islamist group that controls Gaza. General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding but carry political weight.

“The nature of this resolution clearly demonstrates that politics is driving the day. It is totally one-sided. It makes not one mention of the Hamas terrorists who routinely initiate the violence in Gaza,” U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley told the General Assembly before the vote.

The United States failed in a bid to amend the resolution with a paragraph that would have condemned violence by Hamas.

“By supporting this resolution you are colluding with a terrorist organization, by supporting this resolution you are empowering Hamas,” Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon told the General Assembly before the vote.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...aeli-force-against-palestinians-idUSKBN1J935B
 
After vote fails to condemn Hamas, Haley calls UN an unserious force for Middle East peace



A United States amendment to a Palestinian-backed draft resolution at the U.N. General Assembly that would have condemned the terrorist group Hamas was defeated even before getting a vote Wednesday afternoon because of a procedural maneuver by Algeria, one of the sponsors of the Palestinian draft resolution.

U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley, before the voting, said that the attempt to obstruct the vote was “shameful.”

The U.S. amendment would have been added onto a Palestinian-backed draft resolution that, in part, called for consideration of an international protection force for Palestinian civilians without any condemnation of Hamas, and was seen by the US as too one-sided.

But had the Algerian blocking maneuver not been put in play, the U.S. amendment to condemn Hamas looked as if it would have passed. The U.S. elicited 62 votes in favor with 58 against and 42 abstentions. This should have seen its amendment brought to a vote according to Ambassador Haley. But the president of the General Assembly claimed that since the measure did not meet a supposed required two-thirds majority, it failed on that basis and was not brought up for consideration.

Following the vote, Haley released a statement that read, in part, “It is no wonder that no one takes the U.N. seriously as a force for Middle East peace.”

The statement claimed a change had taken place in this vote: “The common practice of turning a blind eye to the U.N.’s anti-Israel bias is changing. Today, a plurality of 62 countries voted in favor of the U.S.-led effort to address Hamas’s responsibility for the disastrous conditions in Gaza. We had more countries on the right side than the wrong side. By their votes, those countries recognized that peace will only be achieved when realities are recognized, including Israel’s legitimate security interests, and the need to end Hamas’ terrorism.”

Before the voting Haley angrily said: “The fact that some member states believe that condemning Hamas does not even deserve a vote is astounding. Denying a vote on the U.S. amendment would be the height of this body’s hypocrisy.”

The Palestinian-backed resolution was largely the same as the Kuwaiti draft that had failed because of a U.S. veto at the beginning of the month in the Security Council. Four other members of the Security Council abstained citing its one-sided nature.

While the Palestinian-backed General Assembly resolution passed with 120 votes in favor, there were still 45 abstentions with a further eight countries voting against it, including the U.S., Israel and Australia. U.N. General Assembly resolutions don’t have the same legal clout of Security Council resolutions, but send a political message.

Israel’s Ambassador Danny Danon, speaking before the vote, said, “The resolution is nothing more than a twisted stamp of approval for terrorism.”

He said Wednesday’s proceeding was making a mockery of the U.N.

Danon said, “Just for comparison, the devastation in Syria that has claimed 500,000 lives, and displaced seven million people has never resulted in an emergency special session of the General Assembly. This type of worldwide assault is reserved only for Israel.”

Danon continued, “It is not criticism. It is not a difference in opinion in policy. It is antisemitism.”

The Palestinian representative Riyad Mansour criticized the attempt by the U.S. for its attempt to put in an amendment, and said, that, “The bad faith attempt to insert an amendment that would tragically unbalance the text and shift the Assembly’s focus away from the core objective of protecting civilians and of upholding international law.”

Mansour had more criticism for the U.S.’s introduction of an amendment, at what, he said, was at the last minute. He called them “games and gimmicks.” He said they would not be sold to the very sophisticated diplomats in this chamber.

One European diplomat speaking on background told Fox News, “The result of the vote in the General Assembly is a good score for the Palestinians, close to their score on the Jerusalem vote in December, and,” he continued, “a very honorable outcome for the U.S., much better for them than their isolated position in the Security Council two weeks ago.”

In a statement released following the vote, Danon applauded what he said showed a plurality of nations had voted in favor of the anti-Hamas U.S. amendment.

His statement read, in part, “Thanks to the combined efforts with our American friends and our allies from around the world, we proved today that the automatic majority against Israel in the U.N. is not destiny and can be changed.”

Indeed, according to the vote tally, all the Europeans voted for the U.S. amendment to condemn Hamas but they were divided on the Palestinian-backed resolution. Sixteen abstained, including the U.K. and Germany, while 12 voted in favor, including France and Sweden.

According to the terms of the resolution, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres must now report back his findings on the resolution within 60 days.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2018/0...un-unserious-force-for-middle-east-peace.html
 
US leaves UN Human Rights Council over ‘bias against Israel’
By Yaron Steinbuch | June 19, 2018

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The US withdrew Tuesday from the UN Human Rights Council, calling it an organization “that is not worthy of its name.”

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and UN Ambassador Nikki Haley announced the move at the State Department.

“We take this step because our commitment does not allow us to remain a part of a hypocritical and self-serving organization that makes a mockery of human rights,” Haley said.

Haley said a year ago she made clear the US would stay in the council only if “essential reforms were achieved” — and that hasn’t happened.

She pointed to the membership of countries like China, Cuba and Venezuela that are themselves accused of rights violations and charged that the council has a “chronic bias against Israel.”

The withdrawal didn’t come as a surprise.

National Security Adviser John Bolton opposed the council’s creation in 2006.

In a speech to the body last year, Haley called it out for what she said was its “relentless, pathological campaign” against the Jewish state.

https://nypost.com/2018/06/19/us-leaves-un-human-rights-council-over-bias-against-israel/
 
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Israel responds to explosive kites with Gaza strikes
By Oren Liebermann and Ian Lee, CNN | June 19, 2018

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Israel struck nine targets in northern Gaza overnight Monday in response to the launching of explosive and incendiary kites by Palestinians, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Monday.

The airstrikes were aimed at two military compounds and a munitions manufacturing site, according to the IDF.

The strikes followed the launch of numerous kites and balloons from Gaza that were either carrying explosives or intended to start fires in southern Israel.

Israel has struggled to find an adequate way of dealing with the low-tech kites, which have sparked more than 400 fires and burned more than 6,000 acres of farmland, according to a spokesman for Israel's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

The fires have done an estimated $2 million in damage, said Idit Lev-Zerahia, a spokeswoman for Israel's Tax Authority.

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CNN witnessed this kite being made in Gaza last week

On Monday, CNN witnessed charred fields, blackened trees and remnants of kites in Kissufim, on the Israeli side of the fence with Gaza.

Firefighters there said they are battling between 20 to 30 blazes a day.

The IDF has increased its response in recent days, firing warning shots near Palestinians casting off the kites and targeting Hamas outposts near kite-launching sites.

In addition, three rockets were launched from Gaza toward Israel early Monday morning, the IDF said. Two landed in open areas, while a third landed in Gaza.

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The use of kites by Gazan demonstrators has increased significantly in recent weeks, and is part of a months-long protest movement along the fence separating Gaza and Israel, in which more than 120 Palestinians have been killed.

Israel has been accused of using excessive force against the protesters, a charge the country's leaders have denied.

Israel claims Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza, is orchestrating the protests.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/18/middleeast/israel-strike-gaza-kites-intl/index.html
 
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Thirty Rockets Fired at Israel From Gaza; IDF Strikes Hamas Targets
Seven rockets intercepted as sirens blare throughout the night in communities near the Gaza border; military strikes total of 25 targets
Jun 20, 2018

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Missiles from the Iron Dome air defense system fired from a position in the southern Israeli area seen from Gaza City on June 20, 2018.

Thirty rockets were fired from Gaza into Israel and seven were intercepted by the Iron Dome system late Tuesday and early Wednesday, the Israeli military said after rocket alert sirens were heard in several Israeli communities near the Gaza border several times. The IDF said it struck a total of 25 targets in Gaza, including three that occurred before the rocket fire in response to the continued launching of incendiary kites.

On Monday evening, the Israeli military reported attacking Hamas infrustructure in Gaza for the second time. The army claimed Hamas had launched burning baloons into Israeli territory.

Earlier that day, the Israeli military said it attacked nine Hamas targets in Gaza, including military compounds and weapons production facilities. The IDF said the attacks were carried out in response to the firing of kites and explosive devices into Israel, as well as to an attempt to infiltrate into Israel.

Also Monday, three rockets were fired from the Strip toward Israel, with one of them landing in the coastal enclave.

The last week of May saw the worst flare-up of violence involving Israel and Gaza since 2014's Operation Protective Edge. Israel's air force struck dozens of targets in Gaza in response to a barrage of 28 mortars and scores of rocket sirens. Five Israelis sustained shrapnel wounds and a kindergarten was hit by mortar fire some 30 minutes before it was opened. An unofficial cease-fire was reached, but occassional rocket fire and retaliatory strikes have continued.

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news...-siren-in-israel-s-gaza-border-area-1.6195076
 

Probably out looking for ways to deflect, as usual. That was the only thing that fool could do when we discussed the PA's monthly payments to known terrorists. That's when I realized he's incapable of discussing like a normal human being and put the block list to good use, so he wouldn't be able to waste any of my time again when he'll inevitably drop by to quote our latest news updates just to post some utterly worthless shit/cartoons/memes.

My bet is that he probably think these explosive/incendiary kite attacks are perfectly okay, so he'll get back to you on that subject when the IDF starts shooting at the "innocent unarmed Gaza civilians" who are sending these weaponized toys over the border to burn farms and forests indiscriminately.
 
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Probably out looking for ways to deflect, as usual. That was the only thing that fool could do when we discussed the PA's monthly payments to known terrorists. That's when I realized he's incapable of discussing like a normal human being and put the block list to good use, so he wouldn't waste any of my time again when he'll inevitably drop by to quote our latest news updates just to say some utterly worthless shit.

Don't hold your breath, my bet is that he probably think these explosive/incendiary kite attacks are perfectly okay, so he'll get back to you when the IDF starts shooting at the "innocent unarmed Gaza civilians" who are sending them over to burn Israeli farms and forests.
Thanks, tool, but you refuse to discuss any of this based on facts.

You post Israeli propaganda. You are delusional. Israelis are terrorists and liars. You support them.

Here are your terrorists:

MIGRANTS2f.jpg%2Blarge.jpg


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And how many of the stupid kite flying posts did you cut and paste?

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President Trump’s New Deal for the Middle East
By Zev Chafets| June 25, 2018

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During Jared Kushner’s recent round of Middle East diplomacy, he refrained from spelling out the details of the Trump plan for an Israeli-Palestinian deal. But you don’t need details to see where things are heading. Kushner laid that out in a remarkably blunt interview in Al Quds, the leading Palestinian newspaper.

“The world has moved forward while you have been left behind,” he said to his Palestinian readers. “Don’t allow your grandfather’s conflict to determine your children’s future.”

In other words: The war against the Jewish state is over. You lost. Now, get over it. Kushner dismissed the traditional Palestinian core issues (the return of refugees, a fully sovereign state including East Jerusalem and the end of Jewish settlement in the West Bank) as “talking points,” in an endless quarrel.

He also portrayed the Palestine Authority under Mahmoud Abbas as naysaying time-servers. “We will release our peace plan and the Palestinian people will actually like it because it will lead to new opportunities for them to have a much better life.”

This assumes that a new generation of Palestinians will put material self-interest before anti-Zionist dogma, and accept a peace with Israel that offers Muslim control of the holy places in Jerusalem, limited communal autonomy in the West Bank, and prosperity through massive public and private-sector investment. Kushner calls it an opportunity for Palestinians left behind decades ago “to leapfrog into the next industrial age" by inclusion in the ecosystem of the "Silicon Valley of the Middle East, Israel."

Kushner thinks that young upwardly mobile Palestinians will take a chance and leap. But it won’t be easy. For them, it would not be like challenging a distant dictatorship, a la the Egyptian Arab Spring. It would be more personal, a rejection of elders, relatives in the diaspora and a widely believed national narrative.

Still, there are some reasons for optimism. One is the failure of the West Bank to explode, as predicted, over the opening of the U.S. Embassy or the Gaza March of Return. Another is the eagerness of Palestinians to work peaceably in Israel.

During the Kushner visit, the Israeli government announced that it is issuing 7,500 work permits to residents of the West Bank, where unemployment hovers around 20 percent. This decision is made possible by the Israel’s belief that they will not pose a security threat. This assessment stems from the fact that 100,000 West Bankers already work in Israel, largely without incident.

But the kind of prosperity Kushner is talking about does not rest primarily on blue-collar jobs in Tel Aviv. It depends on the Trump administration’s ability to provide major economic benefits, and fast. This generates a degree of skepticism.

After the 1993 Oslo accords, there was grandiose talk about international investments in the Palestinian economy. The second intifada, which began in 2000, put a damper on this. So has the endemic corruption of the Palestinian ruling class and its bureaucracy. And Israeli entrepreneurs were mostly unwelcome; West Bankers didn’t want to be accused of collaboration. This could change, but Trump’s “peace through prosperity” approach has to produce results.

Still, the Trump plan has a lot going for it, starting with the Trump attitude. Previous U.S. administrations wanted to be seen as honest brokers. To demonstrate this, they gave the Palestinian leadership something approaching a veto over developments in the “peace process.”

That’s finished. Trump has made it abundantly clear that he is not neutral. He sees things Israel’s way. If current Palestinian leaders reject his plan and no one comes forward to accept take it up, well, that’s their problem. If there is no Palestinian partner, Trump will let Israel go ahead and impose the deal it wants in the West Bank.

This is serious leverage. The Palestinians can’t count on Arab governments to counter it: Already the support of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and the Gulf States has been reduced to lip service. These governments depend on the U.S. for protection against ISIS and Iran and they understand that Trump is a transactional president. He doesn’t believe State Department wisdom about the need to court Arab goodwill. As far as he is concerned, it is the Arab allies who need to court him. That means helping him get the deal of the century in the Middle East.

Nor is Trump likely to accept the excuse that they can’t help him because of the hatred in the street for Israel. If they can’t deliver, what good are they?

This approach is radically different than anything the U.S. has proposed in the past. It is premised on the idea that most Palestinians want a better life more even than they want revenge or another generation of dysfunction and conflict. Perhaps Trump is naive to think so. Maybe his plan is a coarse appeal to personal gratification. Or maybe he is right. In any case, it is what’s coming next.

https://www.bloomberg.com/view/arti...eace-trump-tells-palestinians-to-go-for-greed
 
“The world has moved forward while you have been left behind,” he said to his Palestinian readers. “Don’t allow your grandfather’s conflict to determine your children’s future.”

In other words: The war against the Jewish state is over. You lost. Now, get over it. Kushner dismissed the traditional Palestinian core issues (the return of refugees, a fully sovereign state including East Jerusalem and the end of Jewish settlement in the West Bank) as “talking points,” in an endless quarrel.
What a piece or shit! I really think this has gone way too far. The double-standards wrapped in hypocrisy can last only so long.
 
Four Arab states 'support US plan' for peace in the Middle East
Arab officials interviewed by Israel Hayom daily confirm to Kushner their countries' support for 'deal of the century'.
25 Jun 2018

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King Abdullah II, right, receives White House adviser, Jared Kushner, in Amman
Four Arab states have backed the US plan for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, regardless of the position of Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas, an Israeli newspaper reports.

The Israel Hayom daily interviewed officials from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan who confirmed to Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump's senior adviser and son-in-law, and Jason Greenblatt, the US envoy to the region, their support for the yet to be announced "deal of the century".

Kushner and Greenblatt conducted a week-long tour of the Middle East, where they visited Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar and Israel.

The newspaper, which is owned by American billionaire couple Sheldon and Miriam Adelson (who are also supporters of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu), said that the officials interviewed by the daily also expressed their displeasure with Abbas's insistence on refusing to meet Kushner and Greenblatt.

The PA officials have rejected meeting US officials since the Trump administration controversially recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, accusing Washington of pro-Israeli bias and as unfit to mediate in peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians.

According to Daniel Siryoti, the Arab affairs commentator for the paper, the leaders of the Arab countries Kushner visited were the ones who advised him give an interview to the Palestinian newspaper Al-Quds on Sunday, where he sharply criticised Abbas' ability to make a deal and said that the US plan will be presented with or without his consent.

Siryoti quoted an unnamed senior Egyptian official as saying that the leaders of the Arab countries visited by Kushner and Greenblatt stressed that the official Arab positions conveyed to US officials reflect the "unanimous" positions of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and the UAE.

According to the official, the leaders would also not oppose any attempt by Washington to override Abbas' interests.

"Despite the strategic mistakes made by Abu Mazen ‎‎(Abbas) and his people," the Egyptian official said, "Kushner and Greenblatt were ‎told, in no uncertain terms, that the Palestinians ‎deserve an independent Palestinian state with East ‎Jerusalem as its capital."‎


"Kushner agreed to the Arab nations' demand and made ‎it clear during his meetings with [Jordan's] King ‎Abdullah and [Egyptian] President [Abdel Fattah] el-‎Sisi that the interests of the Palestinian people ‎will not be harmed if the regional peace plan is ‎introduced without the Palestinian leadership's ‎cooperation," he said.

Israel Hayom also quoted a senior Jordanian official, who warned of the Palestinian leadership being rendered "irrelevant with respect to the peace process."

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"Arab states will not be the ones to throw a wrench ‎in the wheels of the peace process, and that Abbas' ‎continued refusal to work with the Americans will ‎lead to a regional peace plan being launched without ‎him," the Jordanian official said. ‎

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Osama Hamdan, member of the Hamas movement's politburo in Lebanon, said the Arab states are being used by the US to exert pressure on the Palestinian Authority.

"There is an American insistence on not dealing with the Palestinian side in order to create an overwhelming pressure on them internally and through the regional Arab states," he said.

"This American administration is dealing with the Palestinian issue through partial solutions, because everything it suggests comes from an Israeli perspective.

Hamdan warned that any acceptance of the US peace process plan by a Palestinian top-level official would lead to chaos for the Palestinian population.

"Any Palestinian leader who agrees to engage with the US administration by conceding more on the Palestinian demands will end up facing a crisis with the Palestinian reality on the ground," he said.

 
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Four Arab states 'support US plan' for peace in the Middle East
Arab officials interviewed by Israel Hayom daily confirm to Kushner their countries' support for 'deal of the century'.
25 Jun 2018
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King Abdullah II, right, receives White House adviser, Jared Kushner, in Amman

Four Arab states have backed the US plan for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, regardless of the position of Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas, an Israeli newspaper reports.

The Israel Hayom daily interviewed officials from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan who confirmed to Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump's senior adviser and son-in-law, and Jason Greenblatt, the US envoy to the region, their support for the yet to be announced "deal of the century".

Kushner and Greenblatt conducted a week-long tour of the Middle East, where they visited Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar and Israel.

The newspaper, which is owned by American billionaire couple Sheldon and Miriam Adelson (who are also supporters of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu), said that the officials interviewed by the daily also expressed their displeasure with Abbas's insistence on refusing to meet Kushner and Greenblatt.

The PA officials have rejected meeting US officials since the Trump administration controversially recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, accusing Washington of pro-Israeli bias and as unfit to mediate in peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians.

According to Daniel Siryoti, the Arab affairs commentator for the paper, the leaders of the Arab countries Kushner visited were the ones who advised him give an interview to the Palestinian newspaper Al-Quds on Sunday, where he sharply criticised Abbas' ability to make a deal and said that the US plan will be presented with or without his consent.

Siryoti quoted an unnamed senior Egyptian official as saying that the leaders of the Arab countries visited by Kushner and Greenblatt stressed that the official Arab positions conveyed to US officials reflect the "unanimous" positions of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and the UAE.

According to the official, the leaders would also not oppose any attempt by Washington to override Abbas' interests.

"Despite the strategic mistakes made by Abu Mazen ‎‎(Abbas) and his people," the Egyptian official said, "Kushner and Greenblatt were ‎told, in no uncertain terms, that the Palestinians ‎deserve an independent Palestinian state with East ‎Jerusalem as its capital."‎


"Kushner agreed to the Arab nations' demand and made ‎it clear during his meetings with [Jordan's] King ‎Abdullah and [Egyptian] President [Abdel Fattah] el-‎Sisi that the interests of the Palestinian people ‎will not be harmed if the regional peace plan is ‎introduced without the Palestinian leadership's ‎cooperation," he said.

Israel Hayom also quoted a senior Jordanian official, who warned of the Palestinian leadership being rendered "irrelevant with respect to the peace process."

‎‎
"Arab states will not be the ones to throw a wrench ‎in the wheels of the peace process, and that Abbas' ‎continued refusal to work with the Americans will ‎lead to a regional peace plan being launched without ‎him," the Jordanian official said. ‎

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Osama Hamdan, member of the Hamas movement's politburo in Lebanon, said the Arab states are being used by the US to exert pressure on the Palestinian Authority.

"There is an American insistence on not dealing with the Palestinian side in order to create an overwhelming pressure on them internally and through the regional Arab states," he said.

"This American administration is dealing with the Palestinian issue through partial solutions, because everything it suggests comes from an Israeli perspective.

Hamdan warned that any acceptance of the US peace process plan by a Palestinian top-level official would lead to chaos for the Palestinian population.

"Any Palestinian leader who agrees to engage with the US administration by conceding more on the Palestinian demands will end up facing a crisis with the Palestinian reality on the ground," he said.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018...t-plan-peace-middle-east-180625151853119.html
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Aaron David Miller shared his thoughts on the Trump peace plan on twitter. I agree with most of it, especially point number 2.
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1 Memo to Trump Administration on Israeli-Palestinian peace. Trying and failing is not better than not having tried at all. Trust me. We operated on that basis for years and it has gotten us nowhere. Failure costs US credibility.

2. By all accounts what you are considering putting out will fail. The Arabs may be polite; but they won’t back it; the Palestinians will say no; you might get a yes, but from Israel. But it won’t matter. Right now you’re setting things up not for peacemaking; but blame-gaming.

3. Right now there is no way to bridge gaps between Is and Ps on core issues; and with these two leaders there won’t be a time — ever.

4. Never has the US put out a plan in advance of negotiations or a serious US mediation effort (Reagan speech was never serious). Your plan presumes to do this. But it won’t [work] and you will damage US value as a credible mediator which some believe is irreparably damaged already

5. Options — pretty bad. Revise sections on final status and make what isn’t credible about your approach credible; Delay- if necessary interminably. It’s only year 2; what’s rush?

6. If your goal is to allow the Israelis to say yes but; the Arabs to say maybe; and set Abbas up for the fall and then say we tried; park issue through midterms, that’s not much of a strategy and it hurts America.

7. Remember success is world’s most compelling ideology because it breeds power and followers. Failure generates the opposite. You won’t be first to fail. But you could embarrass yourselves big time and leave no foundation- even in failure - on which to build.

8 It ’s not too late to reconsider. And perhaps I’m wrong; and you — unlike all of us who came before you — have found the magic Rx to get Abbas and Bibi to sign on or at least consider as a serious basis for negotiations.

9. But if that’s not the case — and you’re smart enough to know your chances — remember this. This peace stuff isn’t some weekend toy. It involves the historic hopes and dreams of Israelis and Palestinians and the interests of the US. We screwed up plenty. So please be careful.
 
Arab leadership warns US: revealing peace plan will ‘undermine stability’
06/29/2018

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Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, center, meets with President Donald Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner, second left, and Mideast envoy Jason Gre

Arab leaders fear a plan that fails to satisfy long-standing Palestinian demands could agitate hostilities.

Following the United States visit to Israel and the West Bank headed by White House senior adviser Jared Kushner and Mideast envoy Jason Greenblatt last week, senior Palestinian officials told Haaretz that announcing the long-awaited details of the administration’s Middle East peace plan could augment existing tensions in the region.

Officials from several Arab countries cautioned Kushner and Greenblatt against detailing President Donald Trump’s plan whilst so many challenges persist in the Middle East, citing Iranian meddling and the Syrian civil war, according to what one senior official told Haaretz.

The Arab leaders fear a plan that fails to satisfy long-standing Palestinian demands, once revealed, could agitate hostilities.

"Egypt isn't short on internal issues, along with fighting terror in Sinai; Jordan is dealing with many difficulties on the home front and repercussions from the Syrian war don't simplify things and the Saudis with the challenges in Yemen and the struggle against Iran," a Palestinian official told Haaretz.

"If the [Trump] administration present a plan without Jerusalem and without the refugees it will be an earthquake whose repercussion will undermine stability in the entire region and not one is ready for that."

Kushner was part of a delegation tasked with trying to negotiate a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians, a long stalled process that further hit the rocks after Trump broke with decades of US policy by declaring Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, to the outrage of the Palestinians who claim east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.

Since the hotly contested announcement and the subsequent moving of the US embassy to the disputed city, Palestinian officials have refused to meet with their US counterparts, claiming the United States has unfairly sided with Israel and thus can no longer act as an impartial broker in a peace talks.

Despite this, Kushner stated in an interview with Palestinian newspaper Al-Quds that Arab leaders "conveyed that they want to see a Palestinian state with a capital in East Jerusalem. They want a deal where the Palestinian people can live in peace and be afforded the same economic opportunities as the citizens of their own countries.”

“They want to see a deal that respects the dignity of the Palestinians and brings about a realistic solution to the issues that have been debated for decades. They all insist that Al-Aqsa Mosque remain open to all Muslims who wish to worship,” he added.

However, the Trump administration remains steadfast in its commitment to peace and striking the "ultimate" peace deal. Kushner insisted that the deal is "almost done" and will be revealed “soon.”

In response to Kushner’s remarks, Top Palestinian negotiator Dr. Saeb Erakat told Al-Quds that what they know so far about the Trump administration’s plan for Middle East peace assumes that money will compensate for the “inalienable rights” of the Palestinian people.

Erekat reiterated what Kushner heard from other Arab leaders: no solution can be reached where Israel maintains its military and civilian presence in post-1967 borders. There must be opportunity for an independent and sovereign Palestinian state.

“The fulfillment of our political rights is a matter of consensus among all Palestinians that are united on the vision and will to live in freedom,” Erekat concluded.

The U.S. delegation traveled throughout the Middle East on their tour, stopping in Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan.

 
Arabs advising Abbas to accept Trump peace plan or risk losing out
Arab diplomat tells Egyptian newspaper that Palestinians should take what they can now rather than reject proposal out of hand and see settlements grow unfettered
By Khaled Abu Toameh

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Jordan's King Abdullah II (right), meets with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and their delegations at the Royal Palace, in Amman, Jordan, January 29, 2018

A number of Arab countries have advised Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to accept whatever US President Donald Trump proposes in the context of his long-awaited Middle East peace plan, according to a Thursday report.

The report in the the privately-owned Egyptian newspaper Al Shorouk cited an Arab diplomat in Cairo, who warned that the Palestinians may in the future “regret” not having accepted what they consider today to be too little.

One key Arab country relayed a message to Abbas which stated that “a realistic reading of the situation makes it imperative that the Arabs and Palestinians accept whatever is available,” the diplomat told the paper. The paper described the unnamed diplomat as a “prominent” figure.

“Wisdom requires accepting the maximum of what is available now,” the diplomat was quoted as saying. “The dealing should be in accordance with the logic of ‘take and negotiate’ so that we won’t be surprised after a few years that the monster of settlements has devoured the Palestinian territories.”

The diplomat did not reveal the names of the Arab countries that had reportedly relayed the advice to Abbas, who has consistently rebuffed the nascent US peace plan.

The US administration is expected to announce the main points of its peace plan in the coming weeks, the Egyptian newspaper said. Administration officials have said the plan is close to being finished, but have also refused to give a timeline for when it might be published.

Abbas has denounced the purported plan as the “slap of the century” — a reference to the phrase “deal of the century” used by Trump himself to describe his peace initiative. Furious over the US decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and move its embassy there, Ramallah has blackballed negotiators Jared Kushner and Jason Greenblatt, and has pushed for a multilateral peace effort that sidelines Washington.

Abbas is reported to have told member of his ruling Fatah faction last week that he does not intend to end his life as a “traitor,” in apparent reference to the peace plan.

Abbas, according to the Egyptian paper, told some of the Arab leaders he had met or contacted lately that he fears that he would be accused of treason if he accepted what Israel was offering the Palestinians.

However, one of the Arab leaders rejected Abbas’s argument, saying the time has come to “prepare Arab public opinion for the new phase, away from charges of treason,” the Arab diplomat added.

The officials of one Arab country, the diplomat said, told Abbas that there was no way the Palestinians would be able to “resist Israel’s hardline position on certain issues, such as its insistence on the presence of Israeli military forces along the border between Israel and Jordan out of fear that extremist groups would infiltrate the border and reach the outskirts of the Galilee and Jerusalem.”

According to the report, the Arab country that relayed this message to Abbas “demonstrated understanding for the Israeli demand” to maintain security control over the Israel-Jordan border.

The Americans, according to the report, have notified some Arab capitals that Trump’s decision to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem was “part of an American effort to persuade Israel, especially the hardliners, to agree to possible concessions to the Palestinians.”

Trump has repeatedly said Israel will have to “pay a price” for the recognition of Jerusalem, though he has not detailed what concessions are expected. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters after meeting Trump this week that the issue had never come up between them.

At least one Arab country made it clear to the Americans that the Arabs would not accept any peace plan that does not recognize East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state, the report said.

A senior Hamas official told the newspaper that the Egyptians have assured the terror group that Cairo would not accept any plan that does not call for the establishment of a Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem as its capital, “on the 1967 borders.”

The Egyptians also affirmed their “commitment to the right of return” for Palestinian refugees and their descendants to their former homes inside Israel, according to the Hamas official.

Last month, a senior Hamas delegation headed by Ismail Haniyeh spent three weeks in Cairo, where its members held talks with Egyptian government officials on a number of issues, including the floundering reconciliation agreement with Abbas’s Fatah movement and ways of enhancing security measures along the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip.

The Hamas official quoted the Egyptians as saying that Cairo was strongly opposed to the idea of “settling Palestinians in Sinai.”

The Egyptian stance came in response to unconfirmed reports in some Arab media outlets that claimed that Trump’s peace plan includes transferring parts of Sinai to the future Palestinian state.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/arabs...t-trump-peace-plan-or-risk-losing-out-report/
 
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