Donald Trump offends Palestinians

Several decades have passed, and the conflict between Israel and Palestinians has remained unresolved. Neither wars, assassinations, popular rebellions nor international initiatives, peace agreements or acceptance of UN resolutions have essentially changed something. Disconfidence is too great, the willingness or ability to make historical compromises is to say zero on both sides.

In this context it would have to be a hopeful impulse, when an American president, with a convincing political vision of peace from Washington, signals the Near East: We are on a dead end, so we are trying with new ideas and starting a completely new path.

But President Trump is a president who is not necessarily known for his political visions of peace. Even for the Near East, he has no new ideas or impulses. On the contrary. His peace plan, proclaimed as “the” agreement, is not an agreement in the sense of a painful compromise negotiated between the two equal parties. It is clearly an attempt at political dictatorships.

This plan takes into account some symbolic restrictions with the very unilateral and generous interests of Israel's security, at a time that Palestinians were not even participants in its drafting and clearly losers. They risk losing out on other regions of Israeli or occupied settlements, which they claim on the basis of international law.

True, they will likely have their own country, but this should strictly submit to Israel's security interests and be completely demilitarized. Jerusalem will have to be, as Donald Trump unilaterally revealed in 2017, everlastingly capital “Israel's”. At the same time, as comfort, parts in the birth of Jerusalem, populated by Arabs, will serve in the future as the “capital” of Palestinians. This plan could be the last “hashassi” for Palestinians, Trump said. He might even say, agree or leave but another chance won't be on me! So two countries of equal rights will never rise. What Trump gives Palestinians is a solution of 1.5 states, not two states.

This political initiative is not only immoral and insulting, because in a bilateral conflict it is offered only to its most powerful “right”. “The Peace Plan” of Trump is dangerous because it lets Israel go free on the basis of an alleged “agreement”, to annex other Palestinian territories. For Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyah, this is good because no other Israeli prime minister has managed to get so much concessions from Washington. This provides him with points in the country's election campaign and leaves corruption allegations in the shadows at the moment.

On the other hand, mass protests are expected from the Arab-Palestinian side, though many of them are mere verbal claims. Extremist forces are rubbing their hands because this plan gives them a new pretext for terror and violence. All of this will not make the Near East safer. Not even Israel. / DW/