Here is the Palestinian's counter-proposal to the Trump Peace Plan

Now that the Trump Peace Plan has been around for a couple of weeks, we've gotten a chance to see how Israelis and Palestinians have reacted to it. Here's a hint about that reaction: the two sides couldn't be more different.

In Israel, Jews are taking the Plan seriously. They're discussing its pro-and cons. 

For example, in Israel, there's talk of Jewish 'sovereignty' (here). That is to say, there's talk of annexation--for and against (here and here). There's even talk of implementing the Plan, after real negotiations have taken place (here). 

Certainly, Jews have what to say about this Plan--and they're not afraid to express an opinion (here).  The Plan has been everywhere--on Israeli TV, on radio talk shows and in the nightly news.

Many in Israel like this Plan. They believe the time has come for both Israel and the Palestinians to talk seriously about it (here).  

Then again, many in Israel are against the Plan. They see it as a "Peace trap" that won't in the end help Israel (here).

Actually, these differences might not matter. This is Israel, remember. This is the place to go when you want to argue over something, especially "peace". The main point is, Israelis are talking--and thinking--about Trump's ideas.

What do we see from the Palestinian Authority? Are officials there giving this Plan a hard, serious look? Are they discussing it? Are they debating it's pros and cons?

Well, they're certainly discussing it. But the Palestinian discussion looks nothing like the Israeli version of "discussion". You see, in the PA, there is no real "discussion" at all. There's no debate.

In the Palestinian Authority (PA), you'll find only a singularly uniform reaction--complete rejection. Leaving no doubt as to who's in charge in the PA, Palestinian leader Mahmmoud Abbas has taken an active  'leadership' position on this Plan. He's already called it not 'the Deal of the Century', but the 'Slap of the Century'--and he's continued to stick to that description. 

His spokespeople have been even more blunt than that. For example, one official has said that, as a reaction to the Plan, the PA might just vote to dissolve itself--perhaps to "punish" Israel by making Israel become the sole 'adult in the room' for looking after the 'Palestinian people' (sic) (here). Fatah officials (Abbas is President of Fatah) have joined with other PA anti-Israel organizations to declare a 'Day of Rage' against the US and Israel (here). Then, Abbas declared he's going to cut all ties with both the US and Israel, to highlight his 'dismissal' of the Plan (here).

To make sure there'd be no misunderstandings whatsoever about his response to Trump's Plan, Abbas described his response as, "no, no, no, a thousand times, no" (here). He said, the Trump plan "will not come to pass". Our people, he bragged, "will send it to the dustbin of history" (ibid).

Did you get his message? Do you understand what he's saying?

To top off this rejection, all members of the Arab League--including even those Arab countries which have recently shown a warming trend towards the Jewish state--voted unanimously to support Abbas. They voted to reject the Trump Plan (here). 

This vote is generally seen as a "win" for Abbas (ibid). Or, looking at this Arab League vote a different way, it's a win for continuing the Palestinian rejection of any chance of economic  prosperity for the Palestinian people. It's a win for continuing both poverty and misery for the Palestinian people (here). 

In place of this Trump Plan proposal, Abbas offers, you will notice, no Peace counter-proposals of his own. He offers nothing.

He offers no compromise solutions to the questions of how to deal with Jerusalem as a capital city, or how to deal with some 700,000-800,000 Jews in the 'West-Bank" (including the eastern portions of Jerusalem). He offers no concessions as to how, exactly, to situate 'two states for two people living side-by-side in peace and security'. He offers nothing to counter-balance the "peace-offerings" of the Trump Plan for economic cooperation and the massive US support for the PA Trump has promised. Abbas suggests no ideas of his own for economic arrangements or security arrangements or political/diplomatic arrangements. He offers no willingness to negotiate with Israel--or the US--in any way other than with his, 'it's my way or the highway', approach.

He isn't interested. 

Instead, Abbas will only discuss arrangements of his own making. These arrangements are simple.There's only one "negotiation" for Peace--the same as it's always been. It's a negotiation process that begins with Abbas saying, 'here's what I demand. If you don't agree, these negotiations have ended, period".

Neither Israel or the US is interested in that. Can you guess why? Abbas would leave Israel with no state.

Meanwhile, back in Israel, Israelis are still talking. Both Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his main political rival in the up-coming March 2020 national elections (Benny Gantz) have expressed interest in it. Jewish leaders of Judea-Samaria have met with Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu about it (here). Politicians on both the Left and the Right have either stood to support it (this, mostly from the Left) or to speak against it (mostly from the Right). Israelis are certainly engaged by this Plan.

Not so in Abbas' Palestinian Authority. From the PA, we don't hear discussions about any peace plan. Instead, we hear calls to condemn it. For example, PA officials call this plan "the filth of the century" (here), not the "Plan of the Century"; and, in speeches especially, officials claim that to accept this plan is treasonous; that is, any Palestinian who talks to Israelis about the Plan will be labelled a traitor (here).

Now Abbas gets set to go before the UN with his own, self-designed counter-proposal for "Peace". It's his  big Plan, his big moment. 

His idea is simplicity itself. He's going to the UN to unleash a "diplomatic intifada' against Trump, the Plan, the US and Israel (here). 

He won't give up. He won't back down. 

He's serious. If he has to, he will destroy both the US and Israel at the UN to protect his upcoming (at the UN) counter-proposal for "peace" in the Middle East.


Stay tuned. This movie has just begun.