Trump unveils Middle East peace plan with two-state solution

[Swordsmyth]

President Trump on Tuesday called for a two-state solution to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as he unveiled the details of his administration’s much-awaited Middle East peace plan.
Trump announced the proposal alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during remarks in the East Room of the White House.


WHAT'S IN TRUMP'S MIDDLE EAST PEACE PLAN?
"My vision presents a win-win situation for both sides," Trump said. "Today Israel has taken a giant step toward peace."
He later tweeted a map of the proposed State of Palestine.
While Trump and Netanyahu praised the plan as a way toward ending the decades-long conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians, odds of the peace plan taking shape are long given that the Palestinians have preemptively rejected the plan.
"This is a great deal," Trump said. "And the Palestinians may not have this opportunity ever again."
Trump acknowledged he’s setting out toward a goal that has eluded every U.S. president in modern times but claimed those prior efforts were too vague and short on critical details. Trump declared his plan is “the most detailed proposal ever put forward."


"All prior administrations from President Lyndon Johnson have tried and failed," Trump said. "In the past, even the most well-intentioned plans were light on details."
Trump added: "There is nothing tougher than this one, we have an obligation to humanity to get it done."
Netanyahu, who faces a tough re-election in March amid a corruption scandal, used his time on the dais to praise Trump's plan and how it benefited Israeli sovereignty and security. The Israeli leader added that past deals had not had the "right balance between Israeli security and Palestinians aspirations."
"You have charted a brilliant future for Israelis and Palestinians toward a lasting peace," he said. "For decades that peace has proved elusive."
He added: "It's a great plan for Israel, it's a great plan for peace."
White House officials described the plan as realistic and said Israel is prepared to act. According to White House officials, the plan calls for a two-state solution including the state of Israel and the "future" state of Palestine. Under the plan, the Palestinians would have to reach certain benchmarks to achieve a state. Those benchmarks include rooting out terrorism, stopping what they call “pay to slay,” implementing steps toward free speech, and other political reforms.
The plan is a basis for negotiations with Israel, Trump officials said, claiming many of the Palestinians' red lines are met, including their calls for a Palestinian state and a capital in parts of East Jerusalem.
The vision calls for more than doubling the amount of territory the Palestinians control.
"This plan will double Palestinian territory and set the capital of the Palestinian state in eastern Jerusalem where the United States will happily open an embassy," Trump said. "Our vision will end the cycle of Palestinian dependence on charity and foreign aid."
The plan also includes a map of a contiguous Palestinian state in the West Bank, with a proposed tunnel to connect the West Bank and Gaza Strip. There would also be land swaps south of Gaza to give the Palestinians more territory.
This is the first time Israel has agreed to a Palestinian state with defined borders.
A small strip of land between the Egyptian border and the proposed land swap areas south of Gaza would remain Israeli territory and be subject to Israeli security control. This was requested by Egypt as a buffer against cross-border terrorism.
As part of the plan, Israel has agreed to halt settlement construction for four years. But in one detail sure to provoke Palestinian objections, the plan recognizes Israeli sovereignty over major settlement blocs in the West Bank.


The plan calls for a demilitarized Palestinian state. Israel would maintain overall security, though it does create programs for the Palestinians to show the capability to secure their areas, including a local police force. The more the Palestinians show they can secure their areas and cooperate with Israel, the less Israel will have to do in terms of maintaining security, officials said.
Israel would maintain sovereignty of the Jordan Valley east of the West Bank, according to the proposal. Israel would also maintain the security of the area.
There is a plan that over time, Palestinians would be able to achieve some civil sovereignty in the Jordan Valley, like farming, officials said.


Both Netanyahu and his political challenger, Benny Gantz, have agreed to implement this plan, regardless of the outcome of the upcoming March 2 election.
The officials portrayed the plan as Israel agreeing to massive concessions without jeopardizing its security, amounting to a serious good-faith effort that Israel has agreed to negotiate. The officials said the plan is realistic and Israel is prepared to follow through with it.
They also argue that the Trump administration’s moves to relocate the embassy and recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan were important confidence-building measures that led to this plan.

More at: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/tru...and-gaza-strip

[Swordsmyth]

President Donald J. Trump’s Vision for Peace, Prosperity, and a Brighter Future for Israel and the Palestinian People

Issued on: January 28, 2020


Quote

We are not here to lecture—we are not here to tell other people how to live, what to do, who to be, or how to worship. Instead, we are here to offer partnership – based on shared interests and values – to pursue a better future for us all.
President Donald J. Trump



BOLD VISION FOR PEACE: President Donald J. Trump recognizes it is time for a new approach to achieve peace, security, dignity, and opportunity for Israel and the Palestinian people.

• This Vision is the most serious, realistic, and detailed plan ever presented, one that could make Israelis, Palestinians, and the region safer and more prosperous.
• This Vision is just the first step and provides the basis for historic progress toward peace. The United States hopes this Vision will lead to direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
• It will be up to Israeli and Palestinian leaders to take courageous and bold actions to end the political stalemate, resume negotiations on the basis of this Vision, and make lasting peace and economic prosperity a reality.
• If the Palestinians have concerns with this Vision, they should bring them forth in the context of good-faith negotiations with the Israelis and help make progress for the region.
• Mere opposition to this Vision is simply a declaration of support for the hopeless status quo that is the product of decades of stale thinking.

DIPLOMATIC ACCOMPLISHMENT: President Trump is bringing together Israeli political rivals in support of a detailed vision for peace and promoting normalized relations between Israel and its neighbors.

• President Trump secured agreement from both Prime Minister Netanyahu and opposition leader Lieutenant General Benny Gantz to come to Washington, where they agreed to use this Vision as a basis for negotiation.
• For the first time in this conflict, President Trump has reached an understanding with Israel regarding a map setting forth borders for a two-state solution.
• President Trump has been bringing historic enemies in the region closer together, and his actions are promoting normalized relations between Israel and its neighbors.

MUTUAL RECOGNITION AND INDEPENDENCE: This Vision proposes a realistic two-state solution, offering a viable path to Palestinian statehood.

• Israel has now agreed to terms for a future Palestinian State.
• The Vision aims to achieve mutual recognition of the State of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people and the future State of Palestine as the nation-state of the Palestinian people, with equal civil rights for all citizens within each state.
• The Vision creates a path for the Palestinian people to realize their legitimate aspirations for independence, self-governance, and national dignity.
• Under this Vision, neither Palestinians nor Israelis will be uprooted from their homes.

ISRAEL’S SECURITY: This Vision takes into account the realities on the ground and fully protects Israel’s security.

• The Vision fully addresses Israel’s security requirements, does not ask Israel to take additional security risks, and enables Israel to defend itself by itself against any threats.
• The Vision provides for a demilitarized Palestinian state living peacefully alongside Israel, with Israel retaining security responsibility west of the Jordan River.
• Over time, the Palestinians will work with United States and Israel to assume more security responsibility as Israel reduces its security footprint.

JERUSALEM AND HOLY SITES: Israel will continue to safeguard Jerusalem’s Holy Sites and will guarantee freedom of worship for Jews, Christians, Muslims, and people of all faiths.

• The status quo at the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif will be preserved.
• The special and historic role of the King of Jordan with regard to the Muslim Holy Shrines in Jerusalem will be preserved.
• All Muslims are welcome to peacefully visit al-Aqsa Mosque.

FUTURE STATE OF PALESTINE: The Vision delivers significant territorial expansion for Palestinians and designates land reasonably comparable in size to the West Bank and Gaza for the establishment of the State of Palestine.

• Israel has agreed to a four-year land freeze to secure the possibility of a two-state solution.
• Jerusalem will stay united and remain the capital of Israel, while the capital of the State of Palestine will be Al-Quds and include areas of East Jerusalem.
• The Vision’s map will more than double the size of the land currently used by the Palestinians.
• Beyond territory, the Vision provides for Palestinian use and management of facilities at the Haifa and Ashdod ports, Palestinian development of a resort area on the north shore of the Dead Sea, and continued Palestinian agricultural activity in the Jordan Valley.
• The Vision proposes modern and efficient transportation links for easy travel and movement of goods throughout the future state of Palestine, including Gaza and the West Bank.

NORMALIZATION: This Vision will end the refugee status quo and help put the region on a truly transformative path: one with stability, security, and abundant opportunities for prosperity.

• The Middle East needs strong regional partnerships to counter Iran and terrorism, strengthen security, and unlock vast opportunities for economic investment and regional prosperity.
• President Trump has cultivated these regional partnerships, helping historic enemies identify shared threats and mutually beneficial opportunities, facilitating the prospect of normalized relationships between Israel and its neighbors.
• This Vision will serve as a strong platform from which to further improve regional dynamics and strengthen regional partnerships.
• Under this Vision, Palestinian refugees will be given a choice to live within the future State of Palestine, integrate into the countries where they currently live, or resettle in a third country.
• The United States will work with the international community to establish a generous trust to aid in the process of resettling refugees.

PROSPERITY ACROSS THE REGION: This Vision, combined with the Peace to Prosperity economic framework, will unlock the potential of a region long held hostage by conflict.

• The Vision incorporates the massive $50 billion Peace to Prosperity economic plan, which will spur the Palestinian economy.
• When properly implemented, the Vision will:
  
  • Create more than 1 million new jobs;
  • More than double Palestinian GDP; and
  • Reduce unemployment below 10% and cut the poverty rate in half.
  
  

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings...tinian-people/

[AngryCanadian]

This really isn't a solution nor the right one. It seems Trump has being bought from the start shameful..

[Swordsmyth]

This really isn't a solution nor the right one. It seems Trump has being bought from the start shameful..

LOL

It's far better than the TDS crowd predicted and it is a vast improvement for the Palestinians.

But you won't accept anything but the elimination of Israel, hopefully the Palestinians will be more wise.

[AngryCanadian]

LOL

It's far better than the TDS crowd predicted and it is a vast improvement for the Palestinians.

But you won't accept anything but the elimination of Israel, hopefully the Palestinians will be more wise.

What is happening to the Palestinians is a war crime, Palestinian children have being kidnapped and boys being arrested by the Israeli troops thrown into prison for no crime. Which even had being shown on footage's used as human shields.

I get very sadden when i see such videos.

[Swordsmyth]

What is happening to the Palestinians is a war crime, Palestinian children have being kidnapped and boys being arrested by the Israeli troops thrown into prison for no crime. Which even had being shown on footage's used as human shields.

I get very sadden when i see such videos.

And this deal will help end it.

But you would rather that it continue or accelerate than accept anything less than the elimination of Israel.

[Swordsmyth]

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, and the UAE on Tuesday issued statements welcoming the Trump administration's peace plan."The Kingdom reiterates its support for all efforts aimed at reaching a just and comprehensive resolution to the Palestinian cause," said the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"The kingdom appreciates the efforts of President Trump's administration to develop a comprehensive peace plan between the Palestinian and the Israeli sides, and encourages the start of direct peace negotiations between the Palestinian and Israeli sides, under the auspices of the United States," the statement reads. It also called to resolve any disagreements with aspects of the plan through negotiations, "to move forward the peace process to reach an agreement that achieves legitimate rights of the Palestinian people."Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammad Bin Salman told Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas that "our position towards the Palestinian issue has not changed, all the Arabs and us are with you. The establishment of a just and comprehensive peace must be worked for. Peace is a strategic choice that will bring a permanent solution that will fulfill the rights of the Palestinian people," according to Channel 13.
The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a similar statement, calling the sides to consider the plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"The Arab Republic of Egypt appreciates the continuous efforts exerted by the US administration to achieve a comprehensive and just settlement of the Palestinian issue, thereby contributing to the stability and security of the Middle East, ending the Palestinian-Israeli conflict," the ministry said Tuesday.
"Egypt recognizes the importance of considering the US administration's initiative from the perspective of the importance of achieving the resolution of the Palestinian issue, thus restoring to the Palestinian people their full legitimate rights through the establishment of a sovereign independent state in the Palestinian occupied territories in accordance with international legitimacy and resolutions," the statement reads.
It went on to call the two sides "to undertake a careful and thorough consideration of the US vision to achieve peace and open channels of dialogue, under US auspices, for the resumption of negotiations to present their respective views on reaching an agreement that satisfies the aspirations of both peoples to achieve a comprehensive and just peace and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state."
The Qatari News Agency released a statement, saying that "the State welcomes all efforts aiming towards a longstanding and just peace in the occupied Palestinian territories."
"It also appreciates the endeavors of President Trump and the current US administration to find solutions for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, all solutions should be consistent with international law and the relevant UN resolutions," the statement continues.

Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates, Yousef Al Otaiba, said that the UAE appreciates continued US efforts to reach a Palestine-Israel peace agreement. "This plan is a serious initiative that addresses many issues raised over the years," he wrote.
"The plan announced today offers an important starting point for a return to negotiations within a US-led international framework," he added. Al Otaiba was among the three Arab Ambassadors who attended the ceremony at the White House earlier on Tuesday. Ambassadors of Oman and Bahrain attended the event as well, signaling warming ties with Israel and support for the administrations' vision.

More at: https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Sa...ce-plan-615752

[Pauls' Revere]

I love the idea of a two state solution but I'm not going to pretend I know how that should be accomplished. Its hard to swallow this plan when Trump was involved in the annexation of the Golan Heights to Israel.

The Palestinians are right to reject this, at least take time to think it over.

[Swordsmyth]

I love the idea of a two state solution but I'm not going to pretend I know how that should be accomplished. Its hard to swallow this plan when Trump was involved in the annexation of the Golan Heights to Israel.

All Trump did was recognize a long accomplished fact regarding the Golan Heights, Israel is NEVER going to give them up, recognizing that may have helped convince them to agree to more concessions for this deal.
Trump doesn't control Israel and isn't going to attack them to make them do what he says so he has to deal with what they are willing to do.
This is a big improvement over the status quo.

The Palestinians are right to reject this, at least take time to think it over.

They are right to think it over and try to negotiate, but rejecting it out of hand and refusing to talk is just stupid.

[Pauls' Revere]

All Trump did was recognize a long accomplished fact regarding the Golan Heights, Israel is NEVER going to give them up, recognizing that may have helped convince them to agree to more concessions for this deal.
Trump doesn't control Israel and isn't going to attack them to make them do what he says so he has to deal with what they are willing to do.
This is a big improvement over the status quo.



They are right to think it over and try to negotiate, but rejecting it out of hand and refusing to talk is just stupid.

Agreed, refusing to discuss is dumb. I can remember the PLO even negotiated better than what they have now.

[shakey1]

I love the idea of a two state solution but I'm not going to pretend I know how that should be accomplished. Its hard to swallow this plan when Trump was involved in the annexation of the Golan Heights to Israel.

The Palestinians are right to reject this, at least take time to think it over.

... as well as the formal recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital & home to the US embassy.

[Swordsmyth]

... as well as the formal recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital & home to the US embassy.

Just more recognition of long accomplished fact.

We don't keep trying to pretend that the government of Taiwan is the government of China either.

And Congress passed the law about it long ago.

[Pauls' Revere]

... as well as the formal recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital & home to the US embassy.

Thank you! I forgot about that. Perhaps if we/Israel rescind that as well.

[Pauls' Revere]

... as well as the formal recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital & home to the US embassy.

+rep

[enhanced_deficit]

Trump announced the proposal alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during remarks in the East Room of the White House.

Any particular reason that there was no Palestinian representative present for a peace deal between Israel and Palestinians?

Such one-sided optics could further boost recent NYT cartoon narrative and theories about recent US foreign policy since launch of Iraqi Freedom war being controlled by GOPA wing funding neoconservatives type lobbies.





Trump’s Mideast Plan Is Seen Mainly as an Election Lift for Netanyahu

By Mark Landler
Updated Jan. 28, 2020

LONDON — Less than a month after being sworn in, President Trump welcomed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel to the White House with a bold promise: He would broker a peace accord between the Israelis and the Palestinians — the diplomatic unicorn that had eluded half a dozen of his predecessors.

“I think we’re going to make a deal,” he said in 2017. “It might be a bigger and better deal than people in this room even understand.”
“As with any successful negotiation,” Mr. Trump continued, “both sides will have to make compromises. You know that, right?” he added, turning to his guest.
Mr. Netanyahu grinned. “Both sides,” he replied.

nytimes.com/2020/01/26/world/middleeast/trump-netanyahu-middle-east-plan.html





Related

The ‘Deal of the Century’ is Apartheid
January 28, 2020
https://mondoweiss.net/2020/01/the-d...-is-apartheid/

[Swordsmyth]

Any particular reason that there was no Palestinian representative present for a peace deal between Israel and Palestinians?

A very good reason, they refused to have anything to do with it before they even knew what was in it because they don't want peace, they make too much money and have too much power by taking advantage of their people's victim status.

[enhanced_deficit]

A very good reason, they refused to have anything to do with it before they even knew what was in it because they don't want peace, they make too much money and have too much power by taking advantage of their people's victim status.

Ok thank you for clarification.

BTW do you see current Sheldon Adelson funded GOP wing led administratin 'fair and balanced' in its handling of Israel-Palestine issue or biased in favor of any one side?

Or in other words, do you find credible recent far right/left conspiracy theories that resurfaced after Epstein blackmail scandal news and depicted current POTUS as a puppet of Deep Ziocons/Neocons etc?

[Swordsmyth]

Ok thank you for clarification.

BTW do you see current Sheldon Adelson funded GOP wing led administratin 'fair and balanced' in its handling of Israel-Palestine issue or biased in favor of any one side?

Or in other words, do you find credible recent far right/left conspiracy theories that resurfaced after Epstein blackmail scandal news and depicted current POTUS as a puppet of Deep Ziocons/Neocons etc?

Trump has clearly made an alliance with some Israeli aligned factions, he has to have allies until he gains more power on his own.
But this deal is clearly an attempt to be relatively balanced and improve things for everyone within the limits of what the Israelis would agree to, the only way the arabs will get something better is if they win a war with Israel.

[vita3]

Palestine wasn’t represented @ this presentation & Netanyahu was officially charged with crime by Israel’s Attorney General, yesterday

RIDICULOUS.

[AngryCanadian]

Palestine wasn’t represented @ this presentation & Netanyahu was officially charged with crime by Israel’s Attorney General, yesterday

RIDICULOUS.

doesn't Netanyahu have some kind of scandal as of late?

[vita3]

Officially indicted by Israel’s Attorney General Yesterday!

https://www.google.com/amp/s/nypost....unity-bid/amp/

[tommyrp12]

What does they US get out of this again? We have already decimated the entire middle east for them.

[Swordsmyth]

What does they US get out of this again? We have already decimated the entire middle east for them.

Trump will have a good reason to withdraw from the region and the Neocons can't say he is abandoning "our greatest ally".

[Swordsmyth]

It’s worth noting that some of the harshest critics of Donald Trump’s new Israeli–Palestinian peace plan — many of them Middle East “experts” who’ve worked in the Clinton and Obama administrations — are the same people behind catastrophic efforts that resulted in more hopelessness, intifadas, and extremism. These professional peace-processors have managed to harden the Israeli public against even the most abstract negotiations because, inevitably, all of them end in violence.
As with the plans that came before it, it’s unlikely that Trump’s plan will succeed. But it is the best of any recent offerings because it doesn’t make any false promises. “Trump Outlines Mideast Peace Plan That Strongly Favors Israel,” read the New York Times headline, reflecting the general tone of media coverage. That’s wrong. The plan favors reality, laying out the only plausible path to a new Palestinian state.
It’s been a dangerous waste of time basing negotiations on delusions. And the reality is that there will never be a Palestinian “right of return” to Israel, since such a policy would destroy the Jewish character of the state. The refugee situation is a 70-plus-year scandal of the Arab world’s making in which thousands of Palestinians are condemned to poverty so they can be used as a cudgel in the propaganda fight against Israel.
Palestinians are not getting their great-granddad’s house in Jaffa back any more than the hundreds of thousands of Sephardic Jews who were expelled from Muslim lands after Israel’s 1948 war of independence are reclaiming their property. The difference is that one of these groups accepted reality long ago.
Nor will Palestinians ever take control of Jerusalem proper. Any Israeli politician who broaches the notion of handing over the fulcrum of Jewish cultural, religious, and political identity to Fatah is engaging in an act of political suicide. Palestinians have never administered Jerusalem, and they have no legitimate claim over Jerusalem. The current state of affairs is the status quo, whether Palestinians decide they want a state or not.
Likewise, Israelis will never pull back to pre-1967 lines, giving up its claims to the West Bank, because no sane nation would reinstitute unsecure borders next to an unreliable potential terror state. The vast majority of Israelis (“settlers”) who now reside in towns (“settlements”) built in historically Jewish areas (“the occupied West Bank”) aren’t going to be displaced because the United Nations, John Kerry, or Ben Rhodes has declares Judea and Samaria a no-Jew zone. Those towns are part of a de facto border whether Palestinians agree to a deal or not.
And finally, there is no way that Israel, a liberal democracy responsible for the security of its citizens, can hand over the Jordan Valley — an area with immense strategic importance irrespective of the Palestinian situation — to a newly created state that allies itself with unsavory nations and entertains the idea of entering into a unity government with Hamas, the theocratic terror group. Perhaps after peaceful coexistence for a few decades this could change. But right now, that’s the status quo, whether Israel officially assumes sovereignty over the Jordan Valley or not.
The Trump deal would simply codify these realities while allowing Palestinians to finally have a startup state. Trump’s plan is the first to offer a map laying out what the final borders of the Palestinian nation might look like. In it, Israel cedes around 70 percent of the disputed territory in the West Bank to Palestinians, but doubles its existing territory overall. “The sovereign capital of the State of Palestine,” the plan states, would be the city of “East Jerusalem.”
In return Palestinians would recognize the existence of Israel, agree to solve their refugee problem through integration in their new state and in host Arab counties, and renounce terrorism. In other words, Palestinians would be asked to conduct themselves as does any normal, functioning state. The U.S. would also infuse $50 billion into the new Palestinian state.
Stateless peoples yearning for self-determination around the world — ethnic groups that Western elites don’t care a whit about — would, no doubt, be ecstatic for such an opportunity. Palestinians, however, happen to have chosen the right enemies.
They just have the wrong leaders. President Mahmoud Abbas hasn’t faced an electorate in 13 years and counting. His title of “president” falsely suggests that Abbas is the duly elected leader of a nation. Neither is true. And while that is his own fault, Abbas and his deputies will no doubt decide to sit in their U.N.-funded mansions while the Palestinian people suffer, and to wait out Trump for more advantageous terms from a friendlier president such as Joe Biden — or Bernie Sanders, who could put Linda Sarsour in his administration.
But they won’t be able to wait out Israel. A nation with an open and vibrant economy has no reason enter into a deal that upends its security. Most Israelis — I hate to break this to everyone — aren’t obsessed with the Palestinians. Hamas is largely contained. Fatah is contained. Israel’s existence isn’t contingent on the creation of a Palestinian state, only on security.
Israel, in fact, probably feels less external pressure than ever to enter into a deal. Anyone who’s followed this issue understands the historic significance of Bahrain, UAE, and Oman sending envoys to White House unveiling of Trump’s peace deal. Arab nations are coming to terms with the reality of the Jewish State in ways that Americans progressives have not.
Nor is there more internal political pressure to enter into a bad deal. Benny Gantz, the Kahol Lavan leader and chief rival to Benjamin Netanyahu, “hailed” the Trump plan because, despite the effort of the American Left to cast Netanyahu as the sole impediment to peace, no major Israeli party on either the right or the left is going to agree to a right of return, a return to pre-1967 lines, or a surrender of Jerusalem.
In the past, Palestinian negotiators, who have never once crafted a peace plan of their own — or any deal that wasn’t contingent on the complete capitulation of Israel — sat back and rejected one concession after the next. They offered ever-growing lists of grievances while American leaders tried to pacify them. It’s about time someone injected a dose of this reality into this situation. Trump’s plan allows Palestinians to have a state in the world that exists. Or not.


https://news.yahoo.com/israeli-pales...234048124.html

[tommyrp12]

Trump will have a good reason to withdraw from the region and the Neocons can't say he is abandoning "our greatest ally".

Having this agreement be one sided will result in conflict and perhaps give Israel and neocons a reason or many reasons to try to take all of Palestine which will probably be at our expense, again.

[Swordsmyth]

Having this agreement be one sided will result in conflict and perhaps give Israel and neocons a reason or many reasons to try to take all of Palestine which will probably be at our expense, again.

It's not one sided.
The Palestinians are the ones who want a one sided agreement, Trump is offering them the best deal they are ever going to get.

If you read the article in post #24 it lays it all out clearly.

If the Palestinians reject this agreement we will be exactly where we were before it was offered but if they accept it there will be much less tension in the region and much less reason for us to give money to Israel or fight wars for them.

[tommyrp12]

It's not one sided.
The Palestinians are the ones who want a one sided agreement, Trump is offering them the best deal they are ever going to get.

If you read the article in post #24 it lays it all out clearly.

If the Palestinians reject this agreement we will be exactly where we were before it was offered but if they accept it there will be much less tension in the region and much less reason for us to give money to Israel or fight wars for them.

It's a Hobson's choice. Meaning no choice for the Palestinians. It will result in conflict which would result in us getting involved again in Israel's politics.

[TheTexan]

It's a Hobson's choice. Meaning no choice for the Palestinians. It will result in conflict which would result in us getting involved again in Israel's politics.

The "Palestinians" should be happy they're being offered a state at all. I put "Palestinians" in quotes because its a made up word that means nothing. They have no history as a unified people. They've always been just a bunch of whiny tribes complaining about this or that. Apparently the squeaky wheel gets the grease.

[TheTexan]

My concern with giving the Palestinians their own country is it sets a bad precedent. If people can just bitch & moan enough and get their own country, we'll end up with hundreds of thousands of new countries. It would just be anarchy, and noone wants that.

[AngryCanadian]

My concern with giving the Palestinians their own country is it sets a bad precedent. If people can just bitch & moan enough and get their own country, we'll end up with hundreds of thousands of new countries. It would just be anarchy, and noone wants that.

Your forgetting this always opens when you open the pandora box nationalist Albanians want a greater Albania, the Kurds want their own state and catalonia comes to mind....