PLO repudiates Trump Plan: Opens door for Jordan and Egypt

 [Published 30 September 2020]

PLO Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has publicly repudiated the Trump Peace Plan telling the United Nations (UN) in his annual address:

“The Palestinian people have placed their hope in the United Nations, the historical witness of their Nakba, to provide support to their legitimate struggle for freedom and independence. And we continue to await the UN to fulfill its responsibility to achieve a peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine in accordance with its resolutions.”

The PLO will have a long wait — as Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu told the UN in his annual address:

“I will be ready and I’d be willing to negotiate on the basis of the Trump plan to end our conflict with the Palestinians once and for all.”

In justifying the PLO‘s decision to jettison the Trump Plan — Abbas stated:

“The declaration we are adopting today reflects the belief of the State of Palestine that upholding international law is the guarantee for achieving justice, that the UN Charter remains the basis for a more just, peaceful and prosperous world and that international law is imprescriptible and its respect more pressing.”

The PLO long ago consigned itself to irrelevancy when it became the arbiter of what international law it was prepared to accept or fabricate and which to simply ignore — as exemplified by:

1. The “State of Palestine” not being a state under article 1 of the Montevideo Convention. 

2. The PLO refusing to accept two foundational pillars of international law under article 18 of its 1964 Charter:

“The Balfour Declaration, the Mandate system and all that has been based upon them are considered fraud.”

3. Article 20 in the revised 1968 Charter seeing the PLO going even further:

“The Balfour Declaration, the Mandate for Palestine, and everything that has been based upon them, are deemed null and void.”

 Abbas then declared to the UN:

”[Our people] will achieve their rightful and natural place among nations, living in freedom, dignity and security, in their sovereign and independent State, with East Jerusalem as its capital, on the 1967 borders.”

This will never happen — Netanyahu telling the UN:

“For decades, all progress was halted and was held hostage to completely unrealistic Palestinian demands, such as the demand that Israel withdraw to the indefensible lines of 1967 and place its security in the hands of others; or the demand that Israel expel tens of thousands of Jews from their homes, effectively committing ethnic cleansing; or the demand that Israel absorb millions of Palestinians who are descendants of refugees from a war that was launched by the Palestinians against Israel more than half a century ago.
Of course, these demands, along with many others, are complete non-starters for any responsible Israeli government.… 

… Thankfully, President Trump chose a different path to peace—a path anchored in reality."

That Trump path has been rejected by the PLO – but another path can replace it: direct negotiations between Israel, Jordan and Egypt to allocate sovereignty in Gaza and up to 70% of Judea and Samaria (West Bank) not designated for Jewish sovereignty in Trump’s peace plan.

In 1964:

1. Egypt administered Gaza  

2. the West Bank was part of Jordan and its residents were Jordanian citizens 

3. Article 24 of the PLO Charter declared 

“This Organization does not exercise any regional sovereignty over the West Bank in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, on the Gaza Strip or the Himmah Area”

Negotiations between Israel, Jordan and Egypt based on these 1964 realities should now be Trump’s focus — the key to seeing Trump’s deal of the century becoming a reality and ending the 100 years old Jewish-Arab conflict.


Author’s note: The cartoon – commissioned exclusively for this article—is by Yaakov Kirschen aka “Dry Bones”- one of Israel’s foremost political and social commentators – whose cartoons have graced the columns of Israeli and international media publications for decades. His cartoons can be viewed at Drybonesblog

PLO and Hamas must hold elections or let their citizens emigrate

 [Published 22 September 2020]

The PLO’s continuing refusal to negotiate with Israel on President Trump’s Peace Plan — whilst also denouncing the peace treaties signed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain with Israel —sees West Bank and Gazan Arabs remaining captive to accepting these disastrous PLO decisions without any rights to vote or emigrate.

These disenfranchised, beleaguered and long-suffering populations have seen the PLO reject proposals for peace flowing from:

1. 1993 Oslo Accords,  

2. 2000 Camp David Summit,  

3. 2003 Bush Road Map,  

4. Israel’s unilateral disengagement from Gaza 2005 

5. 2007 Annapolis Conference, 

6. 2014 Kerry negotiations and  

7. Trump’s 2020 deal of the century — reportedly endorsed by Qatar

Financial assistance to improve their miserable lives has been lost—including:

1. $750 million annually from direct American aid 

2. $360 million per annum in American aid to UNRWA  

3. America terminating its payment of 22% of UNESCO’s annual budget following UNESCO’s admission of the “State of Palestine” as a member contrary to American domestic law and in contravention of UNESCO’s own constitution 

4. $28.5 billion that would have flown from international donors at the Manama Conference held on June 25/26, 2019 if the Trump Peace Plan was implemented

The UAE voiced its support for the Manama Conference and what it hoped would be achieved:

“The UAE supports all international efforts aimed at supporting economic progress and increasing opportunities in the region, and alleviating the suffering of people in the region, particularly our brothers in Palestine… It (the Conference) aims to lift the Palestinian people out of misery and to enable them for a stable and prosperous future,”

Hamas and the PLO violently opposed and boycotted the Manama Conference.

Hamas — which turned Gaza into a hell hole following Israel’s unilateral disengagement in 2005 — had the gall to warn the Manama Conference Arab attendees:

“We warn Arab states against the malicious activities aimed to pave the way for normalisation with the Israeli occupation and involvement in the deal of the century,”

The UAE and Bahrain wisely rejected this advice at the White House last week.

PLO spokesman Saeb Erekat—expressed his opposition to the Manama Conference claiming:

“there will be no economic prosperity in Palestine without the end of the occupation.”

Tens of millions of desperate people have fled their birthplaces for economic reasons in recent years seeking to enter other countries illegally.

Policies espoused by both Hamas and the PLO in relation to Israel have wrought disaster:

1. Materially affecting West Bank and Gazan Arabs’ personal lives and

2. Wrecking hopes for peace and a brighter future for themselves and their families.

Many West Bank and Gazan Arabs would want to emigrate after Erekat’s depressing prediction —especially to Arab countries prepared to accept them legally.

Employment, economic prosperity and better lives tantalisingly beckon West Bank and Gazan Arabs in:

1. Saudi Arabia’s NEOM project—a planned US$500 billion mega city. 

The project includes a bridge spanning the Red Sea, connecting the proposed city to Africa.

Some 25,900 square kilometers — the size of Israel — has been allocated for the project — which will be close to the borders of Jordan and Egypt.

2. The planned relocation of the Egyptian Government offices from Cairo to a new $58 billion administrative capital city 45 km east of Cairo covering an area of 741 square km.

West Bank and Gazan Arabs — caught up in three decades of disastrous decisions and continuing internecine in-fighting between their corrupt governments — should be allowed to vote with their feet and move — with international financial assistance — to other countries willing to accept them.

The PLO and Hamas should be spurned world-wide until they let their citizens emigrate.


Author’s note: The cartoon — commissioned exclusively for this article — is by Yaakov Kirschen aka “Dry Bones”- one of Israel’s foremost political and social commentators — whose cartoons have graced the columns of Israeli and international media publications for decades. His cartoons can be viewed at Drybonesblog

Trump triumphs as PLO continues to dig its own grave

 [Published 13 September 2020]

President Trump’s announcement on September 11 that Israel would shortly be signing a peace treaty with a fourth Arab State—Bahrain—and possibly several others very soon—has triggered a spiteful response from Saeb Erekat, Secretary of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

“Bahrain has agreed to join Israel and the United Arab Emirates … at the White House on Tuesday [September 15 –ed]. So they’ll be here on Tuesday for the signing of the Abraham Accords. The significance of the signing will be elevated from an already historic breakthrough to one representing a previously unthinkable regional transformation. And that’s exactly what it is. It’s unthinkable that this could happen, and so fast."

Trump emphasized his considerable achievements:

"When I took office, the Middle East was in a state of absolute chaos. I’ve restored trust with our regional partners, and together we’ve eliminated the ISIS caliphate 100 percent; isolated the radicals who pervert Islam and sow instability. Today, nations across the region and throughout the world are joining together, united in their determination to build a better future, free from the evils which perpetuate terror. And I think you see that. I think you see that happening very, very strongly."

Trump offered the Palestinians this lifeline:

“I think the Palestinians are going to end up doing something that’s going to be very smart for them. And all their friends are coming into this, and they want to come into it—they want to come into it very badly.

And I can see a lot of good things happening with respect to the Palestinians, which would be really wonderful. Whether you are on their side or not on their side, people want to see it all brought to an end, and brought to an end quickly. So that’s going to be very important.

Erekat’s reply - reported by the Palestine News and Information Agency - was reprehensible:

”[Erekat] said that this free normalization is bizarre as it comes through Jared Kushner, senior advisor to US President Donald Trump, who is a mixture of ignorance and an extremist Zionist who believes that the historic land of Israel is from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea and that the Arab regimes are bound by a peace treaty even though they are not at war with Israel, rather only the Palestinian people are at war with Israel.”

Erekat’s vitriolic personal attack on Trump’s son-in-law Kushner has got Jew-hatred written all over it and will backfire badly.

Erekat clarified the PLO was still pushing the outdated 2002 Arab Peace Initiative and rejecting Trump’s 2020 deal of the century:

”[Erekat] stressed that what is required is to drain the occupation quagmire as stipulated in the Arab Peace Initiative. As for normalization before this is done, then it is accepting that Jerusalem, Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher remain under Israeli sovereignty, which was what came in the so-called “deal of the century.” This is a major treachery.

Regarding what happened in the meeting of Arab foreign ministers held virtually on Wednesday, Erekat said that the Arab League approved all the decisions except the one that condemns those who deviate from the Arab Peace Initiative, which some countries have objected to, and therefore it was dropped by Palestine so that no one will go to Washington to participate in the normalization steps or support them and say they went with an Arab or Palestinian cover.”

Trump is rapidly advancing peace between the Arabs and the Jews at a pace never before seen in the last 100 years.

Whilst Trump triumphs—the recalcitrant and rejectionist PLO continues to dig its own grave.


Author’s note: The cartoon—commissioned exclusively for this article—is by Yaakov Kirschen aka “Dry Bones”- one of Israel’s foremost political and social commentators—whose cartoons have graced the columns of Israeli and international media publications for decades. His cartoons can be viewed at Drybonesblog

Saudi Arabia and Bahrain use soft diplomacy to placate Trump

[Published 7 September 2020]

Saudi Arabia and Bahrain’s decisions to allow their airspace to be used by commercial Israeli planes flying the Israel-United Arab Emirates (UAE) route are the first of what could be termed continuing acts of soft diplomacy by Arab and other Islamic states to help end the 100 years old Jewish-Arab conflict.

Soft diplomacy avoids Arab loss of face in having to jettison the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative in favour of President Trump’s 2020 deal of the century — allowing peace to evolve without peace treaties being signed now.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has welcomed Saudi Arabia and Bahrain’s historic air space concessions which are highly significant stepping stones on the path to Arab-Jewish reconciliation.

Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) broke the ice on 2 September when approving the request from the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority to allow flights coming to and departing from the UAE to all countries to pass through the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s airspace.

Saudi Arabia’s announcement meant that commercial flights by Israeli airlines to the UAE and return would be allowed over Saudi air space for the first time in history — reducing flying time between Israel and the UAE from seven hours to about three and a half hours.

However Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan warned that:

“The Kingdom’s firm and established positions towards the Palestinian cause and the Palestinian people will not change by allowing the passage of the Kingdom’s airspace for flights coming to and departing from the United Arab Emirates to all countries, and the Kingdom appreciates all efforts aimed at achieving a just and lasting peace in accordance with the Arab Peace Initiative.”

Bahrain quickly followed suit on September 3, with an official source at the Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications announcing that Bahrain had approved the request from the UAE General Aviation Authority to allow all flights coming to and departing from the UAE to all countries to cross Bahrain’s airspace.

Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa reportedly told US Secretary for State Mike Pompeo in August that — contrary to the Trump Peace Plan — Bahrain remained committed to the Arab Peace Initiative — which calls for Israel’s complete withdrawal from all the territories captured in 1967 —including the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem — in exchange for peace and the full normalization of relations.

Trump needs the Arab states to continue making more concessions to persuade Israel continuing its major concession: postponing the immediate application of Israeli sovereignty in 30% of Judea and Samaria (West Bank) designated in Trump’s peace plan.

Concessions by Arab States could include:

• Attending the signing of the Israel-UAE Peace Treaty at the White House—which seems certain to occur before the US Presidential election on 3 November.
• Participating in a follow-up Conference similar to the historic one held in the White House on  — attended by Israel, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and the UAE — that discussed solutions to the worsening humanitarian and economic conditions in Gaza. That Conference became the catalyst leading to the Israel-UAE peace deal and greatly improved political and personal relationships between Jews and Arabs today. Representatives from the United Nations, European Union, Office of the Quartet, Canada, Cyprus, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom also attended the Gaza Conference.
• Following the UAE lead in ending Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions against Israel.

Arab States building mutual trust with Israel by incrementally advancing the peace process will keep Trump’s Peace Plan alive whilst placating Trump’s desire to see its implementation concluded.

Author’s note: The cartoon — commissioned exclusively for this article — is by Yaakov Kirschen aka “Dry Bones”- one of Israel’s foremost political and social commentators — whose cartoons have graced the columns of Israeli and international media publications for decades. His cartoons can be viewed at Drybonesblog