US President Donald Trump has said that the White House will unveil its long-awaited and long-delayed Middle East peace plan on Tuesday. Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu is already in DC, but no Palestinian envoy is present.
Trump made the remark as he received Netanyahu, who is in Washington for the release of the plan dubbed the “deal of the century.”
Trump said the plan “makes a lot of sense” for everybody and is “good for” Palestinians — but reports suggest that the plan is unlikely to offer the prospect of statehood to Palestine. Adding to the sense that the deal will offer more to Israel, is the fact that no Palestinian representative from Gaza or the West Bank was invited to the unveiling.
The deal has even reportedly been rejected by the head of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), Mahmoud Abbas, who according to AFP turned down an offer from Trump to discuss the plan.
Netanyahu on Saturday called Trump the “greatest friend” Israel has ever had and framed the deal as the “greatest opportunity” for the country. Meanwhile, Iran’s foreign minister Javad Zarif, called Trump’s peace plan “delusional” and “dead on arrival” in a tweet on Monday.
Trump has held an avidly pro-Israel stance since taking office, and solidified his friendship with Netanyahu by moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, as well as recognizing Israel’s “sovereignty” over Syria’s Golan Heights, illegal under international law.
