A US peace plan known as the "Deal of the Century" will be unveiled on May 15, five weeks after the Israeli elections, coinciding with the anniversary, US sources said on Friday. The 71st of the Nakba of Palestine, and the so-called Independence Day of Israel.
According to the source, "it is logical from the point of view of the American administration, which favors linking its decisions to important historical events, to choose Israel´s Independence Day in this case, as it did last year when the transfer of the US Embassy from Tel Aviv and the inauguration of the new US Embassy on the 70th anniversary of Israel´s independence ".
The source pointed out that the US ambassador to Israel David Friedman gives great importance to the Israeli events, which was behind the transfer of the embassy to Jerusalem on May 14 last after it was supposed to take this at least four years after the announcement of Donald Trump decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital To Israel on 6 December 2017.
The source added that the US administration has previously stated that it will announce the plan after the Israeli elections (April 9), pointing out that five weeks after the election means that the formation and consolidation of the new Israeli government.
While the source acknowledges that the Trump team (Kouchner, Greenblatt, Friedman) is desperate to include the Palestinians in one form or another of the plan unveils (the deal of the century), there is evidence that the team informed the Arab countries that are reliable in support of the deal, on the timing of its announcement.
The experts also do not expect the Trump plan to be supported and likely to succeed, because the Palestinians have so far refused to be part of Trump´s decision to withdraw from its decisions, in particular recognition of occupied Jerusalem as the capital of Israel "despite the failure to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The biggest Arab world that many have predicted, "said Michael Singh, a former Middle East director at the US National Security Council and managing director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, which is close to Israel.
"The Palestinians´ return to negotiations is what the administration wants, a goal that is consistent with US policies, but the cancellation of US aid to the Palestinians will probably not achieve this goal, and it may, in the long run, undermine American and Israeli interests. Observers that Abbas is interested in negotiating with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Trump, or that it is possible to reach a peace agreement at this time even if negotiations are resumed. "
Singh describes US aid to the Palestinians as a short-sighted policy "because aid is not limited to dollars, but includes communication that generates influence." Aid programs make US officials in touch with a broad spectrum of Palestinian society, helping to ensure that American influence Even after the departure of the current leadership of the Palestinian Authority. "
"US aid has had a stabilizing effect in both the West Bank and Gaza, and many US assistance programs have emerged in the aftermath of the second intifada and are designed to prevent a return to such unrest." Over the past 15 years, Palestinian security forces are effectively coordinating with the Israeli army to combat terrorism in the West Bank, and by reducing violence and raising standards of living and keeping E children in schools, US assistance has contributed to the creation of a long period of relative calm, if not peace. "
