ASSESSMENTS

Trump's Mideast Peace Plan Offers a 2-State Path, in Theory

Jan 29, 2020 | 01:14 GMT

A man at an electronics store in Modiin, Israel, watches U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unveil the Trump administration's Mideast peace plan during a White House news conference on Jan. 28, 2020.

A man at an electronics store in Israel watches U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unveil the Trump administration's Mideast peace plan during a White House news conference on Jan. 28, 2020. Trump's plan firmly leans in favor of Israel's preferred path forward.

(GIL COHEN-MAGEN/AFP via Getty Images)

Highlights

  • Palestinian leaders will struggle to mount viable diplomatic opposition to U.S. President Donald Trump's peace plan as long as Trump is in power.
  • The plan risks violent demonstrations from Palestinian groups in the West Bank and Gaza Strip that are upset about a likely increase in Israeli annexation of Palestinian territory in the West Bank.
  • The plan could hold positive political implications for Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in elections both face this year.
  • Arab Gulf states might be willing to provide some funding for the plan in part because they don't want to risk their own diplomatic and economic standing with the United States.

U.S. President Donald Trump's long-awaited Israeli-Palestinian peace plan, released Jan. 28, may appear to try and appease both sides, but it will function as more of a one-state solution in disguise. The plan heavily favors Israeli demands and lacked the incorporation of Palestinian input throughout much of its drafting. As a result, it is less of a peace plan and more of a codification of the status quo, which sees Israel as the more empowered actor in now decades-long negotiations. The timing of the plan's release could also serve as an electoral boost for Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, both of whom are facing political challenges as they seek reelection this year, especially because Israel's government made it clear on Jan. 28 that it intends to quickly annex territory the plan proposes for annexation....

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