Response of the Palestinian Authority to Unverified Report on Trump's 'Deal of the Century'

An Israeli television network reported on Wednesday, January 16, that Donald Trump's peace plan, known as the 'Deal of the Century', is based on the establishment of a Palestinian state in only 85 to 90 percent of the West Bank and the division of Jerusalem. The report suggests that while the plan proposes East Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian state, sovereignty over key sites in this area, including the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque, along with control of the Western Wall and significant Palestinian neighborhoods surrounding it, would be given to Israel. Following the publication of this report, the Palestinian Authority strongly opposed it, calling it 'doomed to failure'. Israeli Channel 13 quoted an unnamed 'American source' stating that according to the plan drafted by Donald Trump's advisors, the area of the Palestinian state would be 'more than twice the area of the current Areas A and B under Palestinian control; meaning that only 85 to 90 percent of the West Bank will be Palestinian territory'. Since the establishment of the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank has been divided into Areas A (A), B (B), and C (C); the lands in Area C were supposed to be fully under Palestinian control years ago, but crises have prevented this from happening, and Israel still holds all powers in Area C, where Jewish settlements are located, alongside military and security control over Area B. The Israeli television report states that the US peace plan also proposes the 'exchange' of some other areas between Israel and the Palestinians; in exchange for the annexation of some settlements to Israel, the country would have to give land in other areas to the Palestinians. The report added that the main difference of this plan from previous proposals is that it categorizes settlements into three groups; large settlements like Gush Etzion, Ma'ale Adumim, Alfei Menashe, and Ariel would be annexed to Israel as in previous plans. 'Isolated' settlements would not be dismantled but would not be expanded, and small illegal settlements would be dismantled and evacuated. An 'American official' also told the Israeli television that the Washington peace plan divides Jerusalem into two sections for the capitals of both Israel and Palestine; the western part and parts of the eastern city would be under Israeli sovereignty, while the eastern city and the majority of Arab neighborhoods would be under Palestinian control. The peace plan regarding the important historical site of Jerusalem, including the Noble Sanctuary and its mosques, the Western Wall, and Palestinian neighborhoods close to it like Silwan and the Mount of Olives, states that sovereignty over these areas would remain with Israel, but the Palestinian state, Jordan, and perhaps other countries would participate in the administration of these areas. The 'American source' also indicated to the Israeli network that the Trump administration assesses that Israel will respond positively to this plan, but the Palestinians will reject it. Donald Trump and his advisors, who were involved in drafting this plan, intended to present it to the parties a few weeks ago, but developments in Israel leading to early parliamentary elections in three months prevented the US from doing so. Jared Kushner, a senior advisor, and Jason Greenblatt, the US representative in negotiations, worked for about a year and a half to draft this plan and made several trips to the region; however, their last trips did not include negotiations with Palestinian leaders due to the deterioration and then complete severance of contacts and meetings between the Palestinian Authority and the Washington government. Mr. Greenblatt responded to the Israeli television report by stating that engaging in speculation is not useful; according to him, only a few people currently know what the plan includes. On the other hand, according to the official Palestinian news agency 'Wafa', Nabil Abu Rudeineh, the spokesman for the Palestinian Authority presidency, reacted to the Israeli television report by stating that a plan that does not fully include the establishment of a Palestinian state based on the borders of 1967 and does not consider all of East Jerusalem as Palestinian territory is 'doomed to failure'. This spokesman for Mahmoud Abbas expressed concern over the cooperation of some Arab countries in the region with the US in 'forcing' such plans on the Palestinians. Nabil Abu Rudeineh stated, 'Efforts to find other regional and global factors to cooperate on such a plan will reach a deadlock.' The spokesman's reference likely points to Saudi Arabia and some Arab countries that, according to Mike Pompeo, the US Secretary of State, have recently approached Israel. Mahmoud Abbas, the head of the Palestinian Authority, denied on January 4 at a press conference in Cairo that Egypt had pressured him to accept Donald Trump's peace plan. Mr. Abbas, who is also the head of the 'Fatah' movement and the 'Palestine Liberation Organization', added at that meeting: 'I am 83 years old; I will not end my life as a traitor; I do not have the strength to fight, but I still have the power to say 'no'; we will not give up Jerusalem.' Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, stated this year that he would review the US plan with an 'open mind' when it is presented. Senior ministers of the Likud party, led by him, last month stated that the publication of the US plan could affect public opinion in the upcoming Israeli elections and urged Washington to refrain from presenting the plan. Opposition politicians and analysts in Israeli media claim that the US has accepted most of Netanyahu's considerations and that he 'should not be worried', but at the same time 'has no interest in the US plan'. Israel occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank in the 1967 war; the construction of dozens of Jewish cities and settlements and the settlement of about half a million Jews in the West Bank, along with public sensitivities regarding the Noble Sanctuary and the 'Temple Mount', have made the realization of any peace plan extremely complicated.