The Trump administration is creating momentum for Palestinian-Israeli peace
In a recent tweet pointing to the 31 percent Palestinian unemployment rate, senior Trump administration peace envoy, Jason Greenblatt, suggested, “the PA is focused on calcified talking points that have not brought peace but only misery and prevented job creation.” He recommended that the PA “focus on peace AND the economy,” because “Palestinians deserve opportunity.”
President Trump’s peace team, which also includes his son-in-law and Senior Adviser Jared Kushner, and U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, repeatedly state that their full plan will also address all of the core political issues in the conflict. In fact, rather than a substitute for a political solution, they have stressed that economic progress can only be achieved if the core political issues are resolved. Both components are necessary for the success of the plan. So why would the PA balk at any opportunity created to bring prosperity to their people?
Part of the answer is the growing disparity between the Palestinian leadership and the people. After all, President Mahmoud Abbas is currently in the 15th year of his four-year term in office. It’s only natural for a certain comfort in the status quo to set in, regardless of whether it best serves the interests of the people.
Take, for instance, the case of Ashraf Jabari, a 45-year-old businessman from the West Bank city Hebron. He believes in economic cooperation and peaceful co-existence with his Jewish neighbors, recently launching an economic initiative to advance joint entrepreneurship between Israelis and Palestinians. He established The Reform and Development Party focused on economic prosperity for Palestinians, with hopes of tackling the issue of high unemployment.
Instead of permitting this effort to proceed, Jabari has become the subject of a well-orchestrated smear campaign and has been denounced as a “traitor” and “collaborator” with Israel. The Palestinian news website, Wattan, even called for him to be brought to trial for treason.
The old Palestinian guard restricts both the political and economic creativity of its people and closes the door on those willing to open up opportunities for growth. This recipe provides for neither a political settlement nor economic growth, sacrificing the future of their younger generations.
The “Peace to Prosperity” economic workshop in Bahrain is a refreshing opportunity for Palestinians to finally take the first proactive step toward a more promising horizon. It is incumbent on West Bank Palestinian leaders to engage constructively and finally choose a future fueled more by their desire to live in peace and realize their economic potential, than their desire to cling to the status quo and the talking points of the past.
Trump’s peace plan is splitting Arab world
The fissures are already visible. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, two important, influential counties in the Persian Gulf, announced they will attend the U.S.-led economic conference in Bahrain scheduled for June 25-26. The Palestinian Authority and Hamas have already said separately that they will boycott the summit. Egypt and Jordan are still undecided. The rest of the Arab world is licking its wounds. Iran, for its part, is looking on, grinning from ear to ear.The Palestinian War on the Trump Peace Plan
Jordan’s King Abdullah was able to weather the Arab Spring uprising by adopting some of the demands put forth by the masses and changing the election system. His problems didn’t end there, however, and his kingdom is still unstable. At this stage, he’d rather the deal of the century was put on hold, while the uncertainty surrounding the plan’s details is exacerbating his concerns that his country will have to pay a steep price.
Unlike Jordan, Egypt is projecting an aura of self-confidence. It is ignoring the PA in its talks with Hamas over a cease-fire understanding with Israel and has tempered its efforts to mediate inter-Palestinian reconciliation. Egypt supports the Palestinian demands regarding a final-status agreement with Israel but is not backing PA President Mahmoud Abbas’ rejectionist approach to the deal of the century. Cairo feels comfortable enough to speak with Washington honestly and is calling on the Palestinians to return to the negotiating table and to learn from Egypt’s experience with Israel.
Abbas has worked tirelessly to create an Arab front to foil the deal, seemingly without success. The White House hasn’t backtracked from its intention to present the plan after the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Even in Israel, voices have emerged in support of postponing the plan, which likely won’t be received with unanimity across the Arab world either. To be sure, since the establishment of the Arab League in 1954, the Arab world has never been this divided.
In the past few days, the Gaza-based groups have issued several statements hinting that they would use all means, including terrorism, to foil the US peace plan.PA President Mahmoud Abbas: May the Deal of the Century Go to Hell
What is perhaps most worrying for the Arab leaders are the threats coming from Iran's puppets -- Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah. It now remains to be seen whether the Arab heads of state will be deterred by these threats or ignore them at the risk of becoming the Palestinians' terror targets.
Clearly, the very Palestinians who are boycotting a conference -- whose aim is to help them move beyond their leadership-imposed economic devastation -- will wind up the big losers in this spiteful scenario of hate. This time, however, it also seems that the Palestinians will not only deprive themselves of billions of dollars, but will also damage -- perhaps irrevocably -- their relations with influential Arab countries. By all accounts, the Palestinians appear to be heading toward another "nakba" (catastrophe).