The worst deal of the century?

Thursday 30th January 2020

The question of Palestine and Palestinian statehood has been one of the most significant issues in the Middle East for over seventy years. But just yesterday President Trump declared the problem solved with his “Deal of the Century”. Describing his vision of the deal President Trump, flanked by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, but with no Palestinian leaders present, stated that it “…presents a win-win opportunity for both sides, a realistic two-state solution that resolves the risk of Palestinian statehood to Israel’s security”.

In this incredibly one-sided deal, the only real winner is Trump’s closest ally, the Israeli State. The aspirations of the Palestinian people, and the focus of UN resolution after UN resolution, has always been for a settlement based on the 1967 borders, before the Israeli Defence Forces occupied Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem. In the “Deal of the Century” pivotal issues of concern to the Palestinian people – the illegal settlements, their entitlement to East Jerusalem, the right to return of refugees and the apartheid wall – are all waived away.

Instead the deal proposes giving Israel complete control of Jerusalem, allows its annexation of the Jordan valley and Israeli settlements in the West Bank and offers no right of return for Palestinian refugees. In return for an economic incentive of $5 billion the proposed Palestinian entity is to have no military, no air force and no control over its borders, airspace or seas. The proposals include a map of the new State of Palestine depicted as a collection of isolated Palestinian enclaves connected by roads, bridges and tunnels, including a tunnel between Gaza and the West Bank.

Palestinian leaders have already made it clear that they reject the plan, a plan on which they have not been consulted. Which begs the question, why is it being proposed?

One interpretation is that the publicity associated with a proposed, historical Middle East peace deal is a helpful distraction for two world leaders whose own political futures are deeply uncertain. Another possible interpretation, and a more troubling one for those who genuinely seek peace, is that Trump is simply giving Israel a green light to annex the Jordan Valley and the West Bank, and to extend Israel’s dominion over all of Jerusalem, with or without the consent of the Palestinian people.

Neil Ballantyne, spokesperson for the Palestinian human rights group, Wellington Palestine, said,

“In 2016, when the New Zealand Government served its term of office on the UN Security Council it was a strong advocate for Palestinian human rights and sponsored UN resolution 2334. This resolution acknowledged that Israeli settlements in occupied Palestine had no legal validity, constituted a flagrant violation of international law and were a major obstacle to the vision of two States living side-by-side in peace and security. In response to the so-called ‘Deal of the Century’ the New Zealand government must reassert its solidarity with the Palestinian people and call out this US intervention for what it is: another major obstacle to a genuine peace process and one that risks sparking a serious conflagration with further loss of Palestinian lives”.

ENDS

© Scoop Media