In an article titled "An Alternative Deal" in the Jordanian government daily Al-Rai, Salah Jarrar, Jordan's former minister of culture and former vice-president of the University of Jordan, came out against the Middle East peace plan that the Trump administration is promoting, known in the Arab world as "the Deal of the Century." He wrote that this deal reflects nothing but the weakness of the Arabs and the arrogance of Israel and the U.S., who wish to impose upon the Arabs a humiliating solution that meets none of their demands and restores none of their rights. Calling on the Arabs not to wait until the details of this deal emerge and not to regard it as decreed by fate, he urged them to propose a different deal, as part of which all the Jews who came to Israel after 1917 Balfour Declaration, and their descendants, will return to their countries of origin "without taking anything with them," the Palestinian refugees will return to their homes, and the U.S. and Britain will compensate the Palestinians and the Arabs for the "damage" caused by the occupation and for hosting the Palestinian refugees. He added that, even if this plan does not seem feasible today, the Arabs must persist in making these demands, for these are their rights and they will eventually attain them.



Salah Jarrar (image: knooznet.com)

The following are excerpts from his article:[1]

"The entire world is currently occupied with the so-called 'Deal of the Century,' invented by Donald Trump and his diplomatic, economic and security teams. Many politicians and intellectuals, Arab and non-Arab, are trying to discover the details of this deal, which is shrouded in mystery and obscurity, while the Arabs and Muslims are [just] waiting to see what this deal will cause, as though it is decreed by fate.

"Whatever its nature, content and goals, the Deal of the Century is a natural outcome of the current state of the Arabs, which is characterized by division, internal wars, insane conflicts, neglect, and a failure to confront the challenges, foreign ambitions and plots, and the Zionist occupation of Arab lands. Everyone knows that the more flexible and amenable the Arabs become, the more stubborn and arrogant the Zionists and their American allies become, to the point that they make demands that contradict all logic and every law and principle, and treat us as defeated, submissive and humiliated slaves. It has come to the point that we now see them trying to impose a solution that satisfies them but does not meet a single one of our demands or restore a single one of our stolen Arab rights.

"Amid this dangerous reality... we must end our silence and idleness and declare, first of all, that we categorically oppose all the Zionist and American plans and that we will be the ones to choose the deal we want as a solution [to the conflict]. It will be the Deal of [our] Lifetimes, not the Deal of the Century, and will include the following clauses:

The Israeli occupation of the Palestinian lands between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River will end. All the Jews who came to Israel after the Balfour Declaration of 1917, as well as their children and descendants, will return to the countries from which they came, without taking anything with them. The U.S. and Britain will compensate the Palestinians for all the damage caused by the Zionist occupation to the land and its people. The U.S. and Britain will compensate the Arab states for the damage caused to them by the Zionist aggression against their lands, and for hosting the [Palestinian] refugees throughout the years of occupation. All Israelis who took part in killing Palestinians will be turned over to the Palestinians to be prosecuted and to receive the punishment they deserve. The Palestinian refugees will return to their homes and their property. The leadership of the Zionist occupation will sign a document stating that they have no rights, historical or otherwise, in Palestine. Should the Israeli side, or its American ally, wish to negotiate about any of these clauses, this will be put to referendum among the Palestinian people, and [negotiations will occur] only if all the children of Palestine and the families of all the martyrs agree to this.

Some may claim that the above clauses [describe] a dream that cannot be realized given the current state of the Arab nation. [But] I say that the current state, grave as it is, does not deprive anyone of his rights, and that these clauses [describe] our rights and we must continue to demand them, whether we achieve them today or at a future time..."