Critics of Trump’s Middle East “Peace Plan” in the capitalist media claim he has given Israel everything it wants.
Trump says he is just being realistic, recognising the reality on the ground. Trump is correct — he has given Israel nothing it did not already have, except United States official recognition and approval of that reality.
What the critics don’t like is that Trump has exposed their hypocritical pretense that there is something to be gained by Palestinians “negotiating” with Israel for a “two state” solution — a fig leaf, chimera and fakery that never got off the ground.
Trump has given the green light to Israel’s annexation of the Israeli settlements in the West Bank, the critics say. But these have always been part of Israel. The settlers vote in Israeli elections. They are protected by the Israeli armed forces. They are connected by roads to “green line” Israel that only Israelis may use, separating Palestinians into chopped up portions of the West Bank.
The critics also say Trump has allowed Israel to annex the land in the West Bank bordering Jordan. However, the Israeli army had already taken over that land. The borders the Israeli armed forces defend include the borders with Jordan, Egypt (with the exception of the small border with Gaza, which Egypt patrols for Israel), Syria and Lebanon. The Mediterranean border with Gaza is strictly controlled by the Israeli navy, which won’t even allow humanitarian aid in.
Read the article by Barry Sheppard in Green Left Weekly.