Trump’s Peace Plan Legitimizes Apartheid

by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org – Home – Stephen Lendman)

Palestinian official Saeb Erekat slammed Trump’s peace plan. It maintains unacceptable status quo oppression, dismissing fundamental Palestinian rights – a pro-Israeli sham plan, not a legitimate one.

It’s still a work in progress, not officially released. Trump’s “deal of the century” one-sidedly favors Israel like numerous earlier failed schemes.

A previous article explained what known about it as follows:

It assures continued occupation harshness, Jerusalem as Israel’s exclusive capital, diaspora Palestinians denied their legal right of return, statehood the way it should be off-the-table, Israel maintaining militarized control over historic Palestine, no end to Gaza’s siege, along with continued violence and chaos because Washington and Israel reject peace and stability.

Erekat wrote a report on the plan titled “Dictations of President Trump for the new phase: imposing a solution, June 2017 – March 2018.”

He called it an unacceptable scheme to create one state, controlled by Israel, a separate and unequal system.

It’s unclear how Erekat got details of Trump’s plan. Publishing what he knows aims to publicize and condemn it before formally announced.

Erekat: “According to this new American phase, anyone who wants peace must agree to what the US dictates, and anyone who opposes the plan will be considered as being part of the forces of terrorism and extremism, which should be fought against and expelled.”

“For the US, moderation means accepting dictation that fully endorses the positions of successive Israeli governments.”

For nearly half a century, every proposed peace plan one-sidedly served Israeli interests, including Oslo, the mother of them all, a disgraceful Palestinian Versailles – current occupation harshness worse than when it was concluded.

Israel stole around two-thirds of West Bank land, Jerusalem in its entirety, destroying any chance for Palestinian self-determination and peace.

Washington was never an honest peace broker, not in the Occupied Territories or anywhere else.

Trump’s Jerusalem declaration disqualified his administration of involvement in so-called peace talks if they take place – dead-on-arrival each time initiated, in his case before begun.

According to Erekat, Trump’s plan includes the following:

• recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s exclusive capital, letting Israel annex the city in flagrant violation of international law since 1947;

• letting Israel annex settlements – built on stolen Palestinian land;

• Israel to retain security; Palestinians would demilitarize, retaining police alone; Washington, Egypt and Jordan to participate in providing security;

• Palestinians would control isolated areas at an unspecified future time, meaningless statehood in name only when and if announced;

• Israel would officially be recognized as a Jewish homeland by the world community;

• bantustan Palestine would be recognized as the homeland of its people; they’d have freedom of worship at all religious sites, other fundamental rights abandoned;

• parts of Ashdod and Haifa ports, along with Ben Gurion airport would be allocated for Palestinian use;

• Palestine would have international border crossings to be determined later, Israel to have final say on security;

• it’ll continue controlling Palestinian resources, its territorial waters, airspace, and electromagnetic waves;

• a passageway would be established between the West Bank and Gaza – under Israeli control, diaspora Palestinians to be denied their right of return, Gaza’s blockade to remain in place as long as Israel wishes;

Erekat: The above represents an outline of Trump’s “historic deal (he) seek(s) to impose on the Palestinians” – borders and other final status issues to be negotiated at a later unspecified time.

Trump’s no peace/peace plan represents continued Palestinian subjugation.

Endless conflict and chaos serve US/Israeli interests. Peace and stability defeat it – in Occupied Palestine and everywhere else.

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