Analysis: Few Middle East analysts expect an Israeli-Palestinian deal anytime soon. But the Trump plan could have long-lasting consequences
President Donald Trump’s Mideast peace proposal may be dead on arrival, as critics like to say. But the plan could also have the long-term effect of seriously circumscribing — at a minimum — future U.S. attempts to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Overall, Trump’s actions appear designed to pressure the Palestinians into some sort of peace deal, even if it’s a far cry from what they want. So far, the Palestinians have resisted; on Tuesday, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said his people were responding with “a thousand ‘nos’”. It could be difficult to unravel Trump’s promises to Israel in part due to the precedents they set within Israeli politics, which have shifted decidedly against the Palestinians in recent years. Another consideration: the domestic political price a future U.S. president might pay by provoking a fight with a close ally that retains strong support in Congress.
The Israeli prime minister faces an election in just weeks, as well as a raft of legal troubles — he was formally indicted on corruption charges hours before he met with Trump. Yet, according to, Netanyahu plans to have his Cabinet consider a vote to start annexing parts of the West Bank and the Jordan Valley as early as Sunday. Such a move could face legal challenges.
President Donald Trump and Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu arrive in the White House East Room for a joint news conference Tuesday. | Sarah Silbiger/Getty Imagesletter Trump’s defenders argue he is making hard calls that past presidents have dodged and stripping away illusions that have long prevented the conflict from being resolved.
To that end, the Trump plan tries to coax the Palestinians to the table by promising them billions of dollars in economic assistance. And while it recognizes many existing Israeli settlements in Palestinian-claimed land as part of Israel, it also calls for a four-year freeze on settlement construction, though it was not quite clear when that freeze would take effect.
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