Seeking what he calls “the ultimate deal,” President Trump and his advisors are drafting a Middle East peace plan to end the bitter land dispute between Israel and the Palestinians.
According to The New York Times, the plan is expected to go beyond previous frameworks offered by the American government.
After ten months of studying the intricacies of what The New York Times calls the “world’s most intractable dispute,” White House officials said Mr. Trump’s team has moved into a new phase of its endeavor and plans to turn what it has learned into action steps.
Mr. Trump’s Israeli-Palestinian peace plan is expected to address the status of Jerusalem and settlements in the West Bank. Also, although Mr. Trump has not committed to a Palestinian state, analysts said they believe any peace plan will involve the two-state solution central to previous negotiating efforts.
Jason D. Greenblatt, the president’s chief negotiator, said: “We are not going to put an artificial timeline on the development or presentation of any specific ideas and will also never impose a deal. Our goal is to facilitate, not dictate, a lasting peace agreement to improve the lives of Israelis and Palestinians and security across the region.”
President Trump assigned the peace plan effort to Jared Kushner, his son-in-law and senior advisor. Other members of the team include Jason D. Greenblatt, Dina H. Powell, a deputy national security adviser, and David M. Friedman, the ambassador to Israel. The team is in consultation with the consul general in Jerusalem as well as others from the U.S. State Department and National Security Council.
When Israel became a nation in 1948, a land dispute erupted. To this day, Israelis and Palestinians claim a right to the same land.For years, conflict resolution strategies have boiled down to how or whether to divide the land between these two peoples.
The last peace talks broke down in 2014.
Laura Lacey Johnson is a blogger, speaker, and regular contributor for ChristianHeadlines.com. Subscribe to her updates at www.lauralaceyjohnson.comand follow her on Twitter @thelaurajohnson.
Publication date: November 13, 2017
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