Trump, Netanyahu unveil peace plan; Palestinians balk
(UPSOUND) (English) U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, SAYING:
"Today Israel takes a big step towards peace."
U.S. President Donald Trump stood alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House Tuesday (January 28) to unveil the outlines of a long-awaited proposal aimed at ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, SAYING:
"My vision presents a win-win opportunity for both sides, a realistic two-state solution that resolves the risk of Palestinian statehood to Israel's security."
The deal proposes the eventual creation of a Palestinian state with its capital located in what Trump described as "eastern Jerusalem."
But there was one party noticeable absent from the ceremony.
There was no Palestinian representative.
And the proposal set conditions that will likely be unpalatable to Palestinians, while granting Israel much of what its leaders want.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, SAYING:
"Mr. President, your deal of the century is the opportunity of the century."
Prime Minister Netanyahu praised the president and the plan, and appeared triumphant.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, SAYING:
"You are recognizing Israel's sovereignty over all the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, large and small alike."
The Israeli leader said the deal recognized Israeli control over significant areas of the occupied West Bank and Jordan Valley.
AND CALLS ON Palestinians to relinquish the claims of refugees dispossessed in a 1948 war, and renounce terrorism.
If the Palestinians agreed to these preconditions, Netanyahu said Israel stood ready to negotiate terms of eventual statehood and independence.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, SAYING:
"I want this deal to be a great deal for the Palestinians. It has to be."
To sweeten the proposal, Trump said it will result in billions of dollars of investment to support the Palestinian economy.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, SAYING:
"Our vision will deliver massive commercial investment of fifty billion dollars into the new Palestinian state. You have many, many countries that want to partake in this."
The plan is the result of three years of effort led by Trump's senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Trump said the Palestinians have four years to study the plan and decide whether to participate.
He put out tweets in English, Hebrew and Arabic showing the borders of a possible Palestinian state.
The maps show an oddly-connected patchwork of areas in the West Bank, bisected by roads and towns controlled by Israel, and plans for future industrial zones in parts of the Negev desert.
The president of the Palestinian Authority had a blunt response.
Speaking in Ramallah, Mahmoud Abbas said, "Jerusalem is not for sale, all our rights are not for sale and are not for bargain. And your deal, the conspiracy, will not pass,"
The mood on the street seemed to agree.
Palestinians in Gaza set fire to posters of Trump.
Others gathered around televisions in Gaza, Ramallah, and Bethlehem to watch the announcement.
A Reuters photographer in Hebron captured one man as he removed his shoe and slapped it against the TV screen.
But even if Trump's peace plan fails to gain traction with Palestinians,, it could prove politically useful to the Israeli leader in the short term.
The announcement came just hours after Netanyahu was criminally indicted for fraud - charges he denies.
And the prime minister is facing a re-election challenge, his third in less than a year.
On Tuesday he showed Israeli voters he could shake hands with the American President, without committing to any up-front concessions to the Palestinians.
