The political universe has changed in the mid east as evidenced by peace plan Saudi Arabia was reported to have presented to the Palestinians.
Report: Saudi Arabia presented Abbas with peace deal that benefits Israel
Quote:
A day before US President Donald Trump’s expected announcement about the American recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital city, the New York Times released the details of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ recent meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman. The report, which was released late Sunday, states that bin Salman presented a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to Abbas during the meeting. According to Palestinian and European officials, Abbas left Saudi Arabia disappointed.
The report added that after last month’s impromptu meeting, Abbas claimed that no Palestinian leader could ever accept such a solution because it clearly benefited Israel more than the Palestinian side. The meeting occurred less than two weeks after Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner flew to Riyadh to discuss the conflict with senior Saudi officials.
Under the plan, the Palestinians would receive a state of their own. However, this state would consist of non-contiguous parts in the West Bank and Gaza over which the Palestinians would not have complete sovereignty. In addition, the Palestinians would not get East Jerusalem as their capital and there would not be a right of return for Palestinian refugees. The White House has confirmed that these are the main points of the plan but stressed that the proposal has not been finalized.
The Saudis have denied that they support the plan, claiming that they are committed to the main ideas of the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative. “The Kingdom remains committed to a settlement based on the Arab peace initiative of 2002, including East Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders,” Saudi Ambassador to the United States Prince Khalid bin Salman stated. “To suggest otherwise is false.”
If true the plan is basically Lukid's negotiating position. Since even before Israel was born they were viewed the biggest existential threat, the next crusade. Supporting the Palestinians was a good way to keep the Arab street quiet until such time as the rest of the middle east could find a way to push the Jewish interlopers into the sea. Nowadays the Palestinian issue is considered a nuisance that is in the way the main concern of the moment the Sunni - Shia conflict. Israel, America, and Saudi Arabia are in a de facto alliance against Iran. The only people still concerned for the Palestinians are the Palestinians and the left in Europe and America.
If any President but Trump made this move it would have been applauded by most US politicians but in the resist anything Trump does era this becomes unpalatable. So this move could not have come at a less strategically bad time. But we are talking about Trump so its entirely plausible this move was not made for strategic reasons but because Israel is one of the few places where Trump is popular.
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