The so-called "deal of century" is nothing but a crude attempt at salvaging the diminishing political capital of both Trump and Netanyahu. It claims to have acceded to the two-state proposal in Palestine, but when actualized the so-created Palestinian state would be nothing more than a colony of Israel. If at all the Trump administration was sincere in putting in place two states it should have reactivated the Oslo Accords of the 1990s. The said accords created a Palestinian Authority with self-governance of the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank. Not only did he back the Israeli move to shift capital from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, he was also the first to shift the US embassy to the occupied city. Under the proposed deal, the Jordon Valley, which accounts for a third of the West Bank, will be under the Israeli sovereignty or suzerainty. Maybe, Netanyahu is itching for a war to divert public attention from his indictment for corruption and Trump has come to his rescue. There is a thinking that if Palestinians refuse to negotiate with Israel toward conditional statehood, Israel would have a free hand to annex the land by use of force. President Trump says he had written to President Mahmud Abbas to enlist his support. But why he didn't invite him when the Israeli side was represented by Netanyahu and his political rival. There was no Palestinian official at the launch ceremony, although ambassadors of Oman, the UAE and Bahrain were at the White House. Agreed, some kind of bonhomie permeates Israel's relations with some of the Arab states, but it should not be overlooked that the deal offered to Palestinians not only impinges upon the sanctity of Baitul Muqaddas but is also in contravention of a number of UN human rights conventions.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020