Deal of the Century, but not this century
B
ye-bye, peace plan.
That’s the consensus view in Washington, now that Avigdor Lieberman has forced Bibi Netanyahu to schedule new elections for September. The original White House road map called for an economic conference in Bahrain in late June, followed by the release of the political component at an undetermined future date.
But now, instead of entering a round of diplomatic negotiations during which the Jared Kushner and Jason Greenblatt peace plan would finally be revealed, we find ourselves in a situation in which the entire peace plan may be pushed off into an uncertain future.
I spoke to a number of policy experts in Washington this week, both conservatives and liberals, and they all agreed: The delay only benefits the Palestinians. Mahmoud Abbas, they explained, knows the plan will favor the Israelis. Thus, every day that it’s not on the table is a victory day for Ramallah.
But after considering the subject carefully, I believe the opposite is true. The real story of the peace plan is not bringing an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Everyone knows that is impossible for now, including Kushner and Greenblatt, who have been meeting for two years with leaders in the Middle East. The White House duo also knows that the Palestinian leadership will immediately reject any peace overture from the Trump administration, thus closing the door on the “deal of the century.”
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