Liberman: Trump Should Abandon Previous Israeli-Palestinian Peace Plans

Israel's Defense Minister has urged Donald Trump's administration to abandon previous plans for Israeli-Palestinian bilateral peace and focus efforts on achieving 'regional peace' between Israel and the Arab world. According to the Jerusalem Post, Avigdor Liberman made this request on Monday, coinciding with another visit by Jason Greenblatt, the U.S. envoy for international negotiations, to Israel. Liberman stated that peace between Israel and Arab countries would lead to peace with the Palestinians and would compel them to be more flexible and accommodating. During a meeting of his party, 'Israel Our Home,' Liberman asserted that all previous plans for establishing peace between Israel and the Palestinians since 1993 have been futile. His reference to 1993 marks the time of the Oslo Peace Accords between the then Israeli government and the Palestine Liberation Organization, which led to the establishment of a Palestinian self-governing authority that year in the West Bank and Gaza. According to the Oslo Accords, the Palestinian state was supposed to achieve independence within a maximum of five years. However, 24 years later, this goal has yet to be realized. The Jerusalem Post reported that Liberman said, 'Palestinian leaders do not have good intentions; they do not condemn the violence of Palestinian attackers against Israeli police officers and work to pass hostile resolutions against Israel in global forums.' Jason Greenblatt has returned to the region for the second time in less than a month to pursue efforts to resume Israeli-Palestinian political talks. Meanwhile, Greenblatt's aides have stated that there are no specific expectations for this mission, and more back-and-forth trips will be made by him and Jared Kushner. Jared Kushner, a senior adviser and son-in-law of Donald Trump, traveled to the region last month with Jason Greenblatt to discuss with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Greenblatt is scheduled to meet with Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on Tuesday and with Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel on Wednesday. Abbas expressed hope in a conversation with the Jerusalem Post that this meeting with Greenblatt would clarify what framework the U.S. has in mind for the peace process. Donald Trump stated during his visit to Israel and the West Bank two months ago that his administration's efforts to establish Israeli-Palestinian peace are serious. According to the Jerusalem Post, a regional peace with Israel poses challenges for both the Palestinians and Arab countries. Both King Abdullah II of Jordan, whose country has had a full peace treaty with Israel for 23 years, and King Salman of Saudi Arabia have told Donald Trump that external efforts for peace between Israel and the Palestinians are ineffective and are not tolerated by the people of the region. However, the U.S. hopes that with potential progress in Israeli-Palestinian talks, some form of cooperation between Israel and the Gulf monarchies can be established, at least at lower levels. This optimism comes at a time when the Gulf monarchies themselves have recently experienced severe internal discord and crises. Recently, Benjamin Netanyahu has stated, including during a trip to Africa, that normalizing relations between Arab and African countries with Israel increases the chances of achieving peace with the Palestinians. However, Mahmoud Abbas urged these countries two weeks ago at the African Union summit not to consider normalizing relations with Israel as sacrificing the Palestinian cause.