Trump’s ‘deal of the century’ for Arab-Israeli peace is doomed by delusions
By William J. Burns May 7 at 3:34 PM
There are usually two kinds of speeches in U.S. foreign policy: frameworks for action and substitutes for action. When it comes to laying out plans for Arab-Israeli peace, the default option has all too often been the latter, offering motion instead of movement.
If President Trump’s “ deal of the century” is launched as promised in the coming weeks, against the backdrop of Gaza violence in recent days, it will likely be something altogether different: a eulogy for the two-state solution. In keeping with his disdain for conventional wisdom and his bent for disruption, Trump might bury what is still the only viable plan of action for Israelis and Palestinians, without offering anything resembling a workable substitute.
Neither Trump nor his son-in-law and chief negotiator, Jared Kushner, invented the steady decay of the two-state solution in recent years, or the pathologies of regional leaders consumed by their grievances and short-term political concerns. Nor is the White House wrong to question past strategies or tactics. Based on what can be gleaned about the new plan, however, Trump and Kushner appear to be animated by a set of terminally flawed assumptions and illusions.
The first is that they can maneuver over and around Palestinians in negotiating a peace deal. The administration has effectively abandoned dialogue with the Palestinian leadership and marginalized Palestinian concerns, embracing instead the agenda of the Israeli right. That can be seen in moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem; closing the East Jerusalem consulate charged with engaging Palestinians; sharply reducing lifesaving assistance programs; condoning settlement expansion; recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights and hinting that the administration is prepared to do the same in the West Bank.
In 3½ decades of government service, I never saw an American president concede so much, so soon, for so little.
more:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/trumps-deal-of-the-century-for-arab-israeli-peace-is-doomed-by-delusions/2019/05/07/451d82b2-70d5-11e9-9eb4-0828f5389013_story.html?utm_term=.5ee7924b38c4
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