The "deal of the century" for Israel-Palestine: US proposals are likely to speed demise of two-state settlement

Abstract

US President Donald Trump has announced a "deal of the century" to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The plan is to be revealed at an undetermined date some­time after the Israeli parliamentary elections. While the details remain a well-kept secret, the US Administration’s record to date suggests that the initiative will pri­ori­tise Israeli interests over Palestinian rights, ignore fundamental principles of inter­national law, and steer well away from the idea of two sovereign states. The Palestinian leadership's rejection must therefore be expected. The incoming Israeli government is likely to treat that as a green light to implement those elements of the plan that serve to maintain its permanent control over East Jerusalem and strategic areas of the West Bank. This course also risks breakdown of the already precarious Israeli-Pal­es­tinian cooperation on conflict management. The EU and its member states should take the publication of the US plan as an occasion to spell out the principles of the kind of conflict resolution that they could support, and state the consequences for European policy of Israeli annexation of parts of the West Bank. (Autorenreferat)