Ukraine, Egypt explore preferential trade deal: Zelenskyy    Egypt, Russia's Rosatom review grid readiness for El-Dabaa nuclear plant    Mastercard Unveils AI-Powered Card Fraud Prevention Service in EEMEA Region, Starting from Egypt    Global tour for Korean 'K-Comics' launches in Cairo with 'Hellbound' exhibition    China's factory output expands in June '25    Egyptian pound climbs against dollar at Wednesday's close    New accords on trade, security strengthen Egypt-Oman Relations    Egypt launches public-private partnership to curb c-sections, improve maternal, child health    Gaza under Israeli siege as death toll mounts, famine looms    EMRA, Elsewedy sign partnership to explore, develop phosphate reserves in Sebaiya    Philip Morris Misr announces new price list effective 1 July    Egypt Post discusses enhanced cooperation with Ivorian counterpart    Egypt's Environment Minister calls for stronger action on desertification, climate resilience in Africa    Egypt in diplomatic push for Gaza truce, Iran-Israel de-escalation    Egypt teams up with private sector to boost university rankings    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Three ancient rock-cut tombs discovered in Aswan    Egypt condemns deadly terrorist attack in Niger    Egypt, Tunisia discuss boosting healthcare cooperation        Egypt's EHA, Schneider Electric sign MoU on sustainable infrastructure    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Grand Egyptian Museum opening delayed to Q4    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Egypt's Irrigation Minister urges scientific cooperation to tackle water scarcity    Egypt discovers three New Kingdom tombs in Luxor's Dra' Abu El-Naga    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    Egypt's Democratic Generation Party Evaluates 84 Candidates Ahead of Parliamentary Vote    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Cabinet approves establishment of national medical tourism council to boost healthcare sector    Egypt's PM follows up on Julius Nyerere dam project in Tanzania    Egypt's FM inspects Julius Nyerere Dam project in Tanzania    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Reuters analysis: Trump's peace plan may polarise the Middle East it seeks to calm
Published in Ahram Online on 24 - 01 - 2020

As U.S. President Donald Trump prepares to host Israeli leaders in Washington to reveal details of his long-delayed Middle East peace plan, Palestinians warned on Friday that no deal could work without them on board.
Trump invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his chief rival centrist former general Benny Gantz to the White House next week, saying he would unveil the plan before his Tuesday meeting with Netanyahu.
But Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said there had been no communication with the Trump administration, and that no peace deal could be implemented without "the approval of the Palestinian people and the Palestinian leadership".
"This is the only way if they are serious, if they are looking for stability in the whole region," Rudeinah said.
Israeli-Palestinian peace talks collapsed in 2014 and Palestinians have called Trump's proposal dead in the water, even before its publication, citing what they see as his pro-Israel policies.
The Palestinians have boycotted political dealings with the Trump administration since it reversed decades of U.S. policy on the conflict, splintering the international consensus.
It has refused to endorse the two-state solution - the longtime international peace formula that envisages a Palestinian state established in territory that Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war.
The Trump administration also recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital and moved its embassy there, and announced that Washington no longer views Israeli settlements on occupied West Bank land as "inconsistent with international law".
Palestinians and most of the international community see the settlements as illegal under the 1949 Geneva Conventions that bar populating land captured in war. Israel disputes this, citing historical, biblical and political connections to the land, as well as security needs.
Palestinians obtained limited self-rule in parts of the West Bank under mid-1990s interim peace accords. They now seek East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state comprising the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Israel withdrew from tiny Gaza in 2005.
Trump, speaking to reporters on his flight home from the World Economic Forum in Davos, acknowledged Palestinians might react negatively to his plan at first but that "it's actually very positive for them".
"It's a great plan. It's a plan that really would work."
By contrast Netanyahu immediately accepted Trump's invite.
"I think the president is seeking to give Israel the peace and security that it deserves," Netanyahu said on Thursday.
Gantz's office did not immediately confirm whether he accepted Trump's invitation.
Clashing perspectives
The political aspects of Trump's peace initiative have been kept under wraps. Only the economic proposals have been unveiled, anchored by a $50 billion regional development plan - which Palestinians spurned as it did not address an end to Israeli occupation.
Israeli headlines on Friday referred to the "Trump Summit" and "Trump Deal". Nahum Barnea, a political analyst in Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, expected "an American green light" for Israel to annex West Bank settlement blocs and the Jordan Valley, which forms the border with Jordan to the east.
Palestinian newspapers highlighted warnings that such moves would end peace chances and pitch the region into a "new phase".
In Tel Aviv, Israelis appeared generally supportive of their leaders going to Washington, even without Palestinians.
"We don't have to go back to the previous peace process that was signed over 25, 30 years ago,” said Yael Rozencwajg, 41, a tech executive from Tel Aviv. "The situation has completely changed since then. Trump has started recognising that."
In explaining the U.S. change of stance on settlements this month, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the new approach would actually advance peace with the Palestinians "by (speaking) the truth when the facts lead to it".
Palestinians challenged the U.S. and Israeli stances.
In al-Auja, a Jordan Valley village flanked by Israeli settlements, Salim Abu Kharbesh, 59, said: “We are the inhabitants of the land, and they have come to us in spite of us, and in violence. They own nothing in this land."
In Gaza, now ruled by Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas which has fought several wars with Israel, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said no U.S. plan could alter realities on the ground.
"Our people will not accept it, and will confront it with all their might," he said.


Clic here to read the story from its source.