Trump sanctions Israeli theft of Palestinian land with his 'deal of the century'
On the day after Holocaust Memorial Day President Trump launched his so called peace plan for the Israeli-Palestine conflict. Let's be clear from the outset: this is not a peace deal.
Trump, facing impeachment, and Israeli leader Netanyahu, who is facing corruption charges, have negotiated a 'peace deal' which the Palestinian people have had no involvement with. The deal contravenes dozens of UN resolutions that have called upon Israel to respect the 1967 borders of the West Bank and withdraw from its illegal colonial settlements built upon stolen Palestinian land in the West Bank.
Trump's deal calls upon the Palestinian people to surrender to their oppressors and agree to the theft of a third of their land on the West Bank.
The Israeli human rights group B'Tselem gives a succinct summary of this 'peace deal':
''The Trump plan drains the principles of international law of any meaning and completely neuters the concept of accountability for breaching them. Trump suggests rewarding Israel for the unlawful and immoral practices in which it has been engaging ever since it seized the Territories. Israel will be able to continue plundering Palestinian land and resources; it will also get to keep its settlements and even annex more territory; all in complete defiance of international law. Israeli citizens who live in the Territories will continue to enjoy all the rights granted to other Israeli citizens, including full political rights and freedom of movement, as if they were not living inside an occupied area at all.
Palestinians, on the other hand, will be relegated to small, enclosed, isolated enclaves, with no control over their lives as the plan eternalizes the fragmentation of Palestinian space into disconnected slivers of territory in a sea of Israeli control, not unlike the Bantustans of South Africa’s Apartheid regime. With no territorial contiguity, Palestinians will not be able to exercise their right to self-determination and will continue to be completely dependent on Israel’s goodwill for their daily life, with no political rights and no way to influence their future. They will continue to be at the mercy of Israel’s draconian permit regime and need its consent for any construction or development. In this sense, not only does the plan fail to improve their predicament in any way, but, in fact, it leaves them worse off as it perpetuates the situation and gives it recognition.''
Not surprisingly, allies of the U.S. such as the UK accept the deal as a way forward towards peace.
People of good conscience all over the world should stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people and reject this pernicious deal that sanctions Israeli war crimes and ethnic cleansing. It is merely a recipe for yet further violence, oppression and injustice. It will not bring peace, stability or security for any of the people living between the river Jordan and the Mediterranean.