UN continues obscene silence on Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine

 

My latest article revealing that Jordan, the Palestine Liberation Organisation and Hamas have seemingly agreed to the creation of the Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine - trashing the failed two-State solution proposed by the UN since 2016 - has brought no response from UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. 

On 10 January I forwarded my article to Stephane Dujarric - Guterres' spokesperson - asking him:

"For how much longer can the Secretary-General refuse to acknowledge even the existence of this alternative solution to the UN's failed two-state solution?"

On January 3, 2023 I had written to Mr Dujarric:

"I note the Secretary General stated on 19 December: ‘We owe it to people to find solutions, to fight back, and to act", said Secretary-General António Guterres. "At times, discreetly but always with determination, we will fight back."  

I certainly hope the Secretary General has finally decided to bring the Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine solution to the General Assembly and Security Council for consideration as an alternative to the two-State solution unsuccessfully pursued by the UN since the passing of UNSCR 2334 in 2016. I hope that I might receive an acknowledgement of this email by return and a considered statement from the Secretary General that I can publish in response to this latest article within the next 72 hours."

Both emails - along with many others enclosing earlier articles - were not even acknowledged by Mr Dujarric. 

Guterres should rename Dujarric: The Non-Spokesperson for the Secretary General.

Guterres heads the following massive UN anti-Israel administration that vilifies and denigrates Israel on a daily basis - that would disintegrate if the Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine solution was successfully implemented:

• Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP):

Established in 1975 to enable the 1964-invented "Palestinians" to exercise falsely –claimed inalienable rights to self-determination, national independence and sovereignty without external interference; to return to their homes and property from which they had been displaced. 

• United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA):

Established in 1949 carrying out direct relief and works programmes solely for Palestinian Arab refugees involving expenditure of US$2.048 billion in 2022-2023

• Special Rapporteur - Francesca Albanese:

Assessing the human rights situation in the UN-falsely-designated "Occupied Palestinian Territories", reporting publicly about it, and working with governments, civil society and others to foster international cooperation

• The Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and the Secretary-General's Personal Representative to the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority - Tor Wennesland: 

Focal point on the ground for UN support in all political and diplomatic efforts related to the peace process and for coordinating the activities of more than twenty UN agencies, funds and programmes on humanitarian and development assistance to a name-changed "Palestinian Authority" and falsely-claimed "Palestinian people".

• Department for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs' Division for Palestinian Rights: The Secretariat of CEIRPP  providing the following core functions:
• Organising meetings of CEIRPP and its Bureau at UN Headquarters;
• Monitoring political and other relevant developments;
• Organising programmes of international meetings, conferences and CEIRPP delegation visits;
• Implementing a publications programme;
• Developing and maintaining the United Nations Information System on the Question of Palestine (UNISPAL) and managing CEIRPP's outreach efforts including via social media;
• Cooperating with civil society organizations active on the Palestinian issue;
• Organising the annual International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People

Maurice Hirsh's recent article headlined "The UN is cancerous and should not be allowed in Israel" expresses Israel's increasing frustration with the UN.

Secretary-General Guterres' continuing failure to recognise the existence of the Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine solution indicates he is apparently more concerned with preserving this UN Jew-hating behemoth than ending the 100 years-old Arab-Jewish conflict. 

Please join my Facebook Page: "Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine supporters" 

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.

Jordan PLO & Hamas revise Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine Plan

 

The Saudi-based Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine plan (Saudi Plan) - initially published in Al Arabiya News on 8 June 2022 - has been revised in a later document containing amendments that appear to have been made at the request of and agreed to by Jordan, the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and Hamas - the three parties most affected if the Saudi Plan is successfully implemented. 

The revised version has not been published in Al Arabiya News or on any other news site. It is written in Arabic - but an English translation - a copy of which is in the writer’s possession - is very informative in clarifying certain parts of the original version which were apparently vague or unacceptable to Jordan, the PLO and Hamas.

The Saudi Plan calls for Jordan, Gaza and part of Judea and Samaria (West Bank) to be merged into one territorial entity to be called the Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine. This plan trashes the creation of an independent Palestinian Arab State between Israel and Jordan - the solution proposed by:

• The 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, 
• The United Nations - after adopting Security Council Resolution 2334 in 2016, 
• The 2020 Trump Peace Plan - and 
• Jordan and the PLO since the signing of the 1993 Oslo Accords

The major changes to the published version of the Saudi Plan made in the revised version are:

• The area of Judea and Samaria (West Bank) to be included in the Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine - approximately 70% in the published version - has been reduced to about 30% in the revised version. 

This concession would purportedly weaken Israel’s claim to sovereignty in the Jordan Valley - 87% of which is situated in Area C - currently under Israel’s full administrative and security control.

The possibility that Israel could regain sovereignty in up to 90% of Judea and Samaria (West Bank) for the first time in 3000 years - with Jordan, PLO and Hamas consensus - is a potential game changer.

• The Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine - will be under Hashemite rule. The original version did not designate who would be its ruler. 

• Important changes have been made in relation to Jerusalem:

The original version states: 

"The formal relinquishment of any claims to Jerusalem (with an appropriate arrangement for the holy places)" will be "a key bargaining chip in Palestinian hands".

The revised version states:

"The formal renunciation of Jerusalem (while giving the Holy Places special status)" will be a major bargaining chip in the hands of the Palestinians."

Sole Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem is now promised - if agreement on all other issues can be resolved. 

Under the radar contact already commenced between Israel and Saudi Arabia will certainly focus on implementing the revised version - not the published version. 

I reached out to the author of both the original and revised versions - Ali Shihabi - asking him to explain why his original published plan was substantially revised and not published. 

I offered to publish his reasons verbatim in an article which I would submit to him to approve before publication. Shihabi has not replied to my request. 

Shihabi might be more forthcoming if contacted by any of the following - who have not even acknowledged the existence of the Saudi Plan since its original publication:

• Joe Biden, 
• UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, 
• New York Times Op Ed writer Thomas Friedman 
• Any reporter with Shihabi’s cell phone number.
• Private think tanks, 
• Israeli Non-Government Organisations, 
• Investigative journalists 

The failure of Jordan, the PLO or Hamas to reject the Saudi Plan since its initial publication seven months ago is explained by their agreement to the changes made in the revised version.

Please join my Facebook Page: "Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine supporters"

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.

Under the radar negotiations on Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine

 

Israel and Saudi Arabia have reportedly begun US-brokered peace negotiations that will be conducted far away from the media and public gaze.  Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu made that perfectly clear in his 50 minute interview on Saudi Government-controlled Al Arabiya TV on 15 December:

“You know, I’m sort of a champion of a slight twist in what Woodrow Wilson said in the Versailles Peace Conference. He said he believed in open covenants, openly arrived at. I believe in open covenants, secretly arrived at or discreetly arrived at. There we will have to have discussions about all the questions that you asked today and see how we can advance this. If you try to sort it out in advance you get stuck. That’s what happens. In Israel, we say “climb the tree.” Everybody climbs on their own tree and says, “I’m here, and I’m not climbing down and no matter how many ladders you give me.” I’m stuck in my tree, the other guy is stuck in his tree, and we just shout at each other across tree trunks and we never get to a meeting of the minds or an actual meeting on the ground. I think we have to take a different position. All these things need to be discussed discreetly, responsibly and, within the confines of closed meetings, openly. And once we get an agreement, then we can come out. I don’t need the public fanfare, I don’t need it. You know, if you come to an agreement, it will be publicized. If you don’t come to an agreement, nothing happens. I think we can come to amazing agreements.”

One topic for discussion will assuredly involve the implementation of the Saudi-based Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine solution published in Al Arabiya News on 8 June 2022. Its author – Ali Shihabi – is a confidant of Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister – Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) and also a member of MBS’s advisory board on Neom – a US$500 billion megacity being built in north-western Saudi Arabia covering an area equal to the size of Israel.

Shihabi’s plan calls for the merger of Jordan, Gaza and part of Judea and Samaria (West Bank) into one territorial entity to be called “The Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine”  Shihabi's plan is both revolutionary and ground breaking - the best plan yet presented to end the Jewish-Arab conflict. Shihabi’s plan has not been rejected by King Abdullah (Jordan), Mahmoud Abbas (PLO) Ismail Haniyeh (Hamas) or MBS in the seven months since its publication. Yet incredibly virtually all:

• the international media, 
• Op-Ed writers, 
• University professors heading up Middle East faculty departments 
• Well-endowed private think tanks, 
• foreign-funded Israeli NGO's, 
• investigative journalists and 
• the United Nations 

have ignored acknowledging even the existence of Shihabi's plan. Their credibility is in tatters – their opinions and decisions fatally flawed without factoring in Shihabi’s plan.

The UN is now seeking an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice - when supporting the implementation of Shihabi’s Plan would have rendered that highly-divisive decision unnecessary. 

Trashing Shihabi’s plan was a UN option - but burying this game changing plan - an alternative to the failed two-state solution proposed by the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, the 2003 Oslo Accords and Security Council Resolution 2334 (2016) - requires explanation and justification. 

Had this misguided group of bedfellows treated Shihabi’s Plan with the seriousness and analysis it deserved – they might have also discovered one other critically important document: A revised version of Shihabi’s 8 June 2022 plan. 

Burying Shihabi’s plan has ironically given Israel and Jordan the freedom to negotiate under the radar amendments to Shihabi’s plan - long before their US-brokered negotiations commenced. 

Please join my Facebook Page: “Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine supporters”

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.

David Singer——Bio and Archives

David Singer is an Australian Lawyer, a Foundation Member of the International Analyst Network and Convenor of Jordan is Palestine International—an organization calling for sovereignty of the West Bank and Gaza to be allocated between Israel and Jordan as the two successor States to the Mandate for Palestine. Previous articles written by him can be found at: jordanispalestine.blogspot.com

Security Council should adopt Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine

 

The United Nations Security Council needs to urgently consider adopting  the Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine solution - following the warning delivered on December 19th by Tor Wennesland – UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Process. 

Addressing the Security Council Wennesland advised:

“Clashes, protests, attacks, Israeli security operations, including in Area A, and settler-related violence have continued. In 2022 to date, over one hundred and fifty Palestinians and more than twenty Israelis have been killed in the West Bank and Israel, the highest numbers of fatalities in years”

Wennesland was concerned that  Security Council Resolution 2334 passed on December 23, 2016 had failed to achieve its objective six years later: the creation of an independent Palestinian Arab State between Israel and Jordan (two-State solution).

 Wennesland unwisely chose to blame Israel:

“Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, remains deeply concerning. Settlements constitute a flagrant violation of United Nations resolutions and international law. They undermine the prospects of achieving a two-State solution by systematically eroding the possibility of establishing a contiguous, independent, viable and sovereign Palestinian State.”

He reminded the Security Council:

"As I told the Council in my briefing last month, seeking to freeze this conflict or manage it in perpetuity are not viable options. There is no substitute for a legitimate political process that will resolve the core issues driving the conflict."

Wennesland was correct but his proposed recommendation for “a legitimate political process” fell far short of what is required:

“In line with the recommendations that I made to this Council in November, I urge the parties, along with regional States and the broader international community to take concrete steps that will change the negative trajectory on the ground and have an immediate impact on Palestinian and Israeli lives, while, at the same time, ensuring these steps are anchored in a political framework that moves the parties forward towards the establishment of two States.”

Clinging to the failed two-State solution 6 years after its endorsement by Security Council Resolution 2334 and 20 years after first being proposed by the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative – is a futile exercise.  

Wennesland’s recommendation will only see the conflict being indefinitely perpetuated – not ended.  

The Saudi-based Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine solution published on June 8, 2022 (Saudi Solution) has amazingly never been mentioned or discussed in the Security Council. 

It will dramatically  “change the negative trajectory on the ground “:

• It challenges the Security Council’s pointless pursuit of the two-State  solution by calling for the merger of Jordan, Gaza and part of the West Bank into one territorial entity to be called the Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine having its capital in Amman and being ruled by Jordan’s current Hashemite ruler – King Abdullah
• The 2002 Arab Peace Initiative and 2003 Oslo Accords are superseded.
• Arab populations living in Gaza, the West Bank and the refugee camps in Syria, Jordan and Lebanon will become citizens of the Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine.
• Sovereignty in the West Bank will be divided between Israel and the Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine
• Its author – Ali Shihabi – is a confidant of Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince and Prime Minister – Mohammed Bin Salman.
• Publication of the plan in the Saudi Government–controlled Al-Arabiya News overrules current Saudi policy - strongly suggesting Mohammed Bin Salman’s approval was first obtained.
• King Abdullah (Jordan), Mahmoud Abbas (Palestinian Authority), Ismail Haniyeh (Hamas) Mohammed Bin Salman (Saudi Arabia) and Benjamin Netanyahu (Israel) have not expressly rejected the solution in the six months since its publication.
• Its successful implementation can end the 100 years-old Arab -Jewish conflict.

Adopting the Saudi Solution to replace the failed two-State solution is needed to arrest this worsening humanitarian nightmare. 

Please join my Facebook Page: “Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine supporters”

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.

Bibi forced to move early on Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine plan

 

Bibi Netanyahu's time for confirmation as Israel's next Prime Minister runs out on December 21st after six weeks of the tail wagging the dog - parties with few Knesset members using their small but strategic numbers to try to extract concessions from Netanyahu for their support - that Netanyahu has obviously been resisting. 

Faced with this looming reality - Netanyahu has been forced to move early on his election promise made to Israeli voters on October 22nd:

"I think the big prize is peace with Saudi Arabia, which I intend to achieve if I go back into office… The rise of Israeli power facilitated the Abraham Accords, and the continual nurturing of Israeli power will also nurture a broader peace with Saudi Arabia and nearly all of the rest of the Arab world. I intend to bring the Arab-Israeli conflict to a close."

In an extraordinary 52 minute interview on Saudi Government-controlled Al Arabiya TV on 15 December - Netanyahu pointed out for the benefit of those Israeli political party leaders who are his main stumbling blocks to becoming Prime Minister - the opportunity Israel would miss to end the 100 years-old Arab-Jewish conflict - if Netanyahu is not Israel's next Prime Minister. He warned them:

"The other parties are joining me. I'm not joining them"

Netanyahu –repeating his election promise - told Al Arabiya:

"I think the peace with Saudi Arabia will serve two purposes: It will be a quantum leap for an overall peace between Israel and the Arab world, it will change our region in ways that are unimaginable and I think it will facilitate, ultimately, a Palestinian-Israeli peace. I believe in that. I intend to pursue it."

Netanyahu continued: 

"The reason we've not had an Israeli-Palestinian peace is because the Palestinian… leadership for the last century has refused to do what is finally happening in the rest of the Arab world -- and that is to recognize that the State of Israel is here to stay."

A new solution to achieve an Israeli-Palestinian peace authored by Ali Shihabi - a close confidant of Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince and Prime Minister -Mohammed Bin Salman - was published by Al Arabiya news on June 8, 2022--but has amazingly received virtually no mention or scrutiny in the international media or at the United Nations in the six months since its release. 

The plan recognises:

"Israel is a reality firmly implanted on the ground that has to be accepted  ..."

The plan calls for the merger of Jordan, Gaza and part of Judea and Samaria (West Bank) into one territorial entity to be called The Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine with unrestricted citizenship being offered to the Arab populations of Jordan, Gaza, the West Bank and the refugee camps located in Syria and Lebanon.

Netanyahu - significantly –told Al Arabiya viewers:

"I think coming to a solution with the Palestinians will require out of the box thinking, will require new thinking."

The Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine solution is certainly the most creative plan ever proposed to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict--its author declaring:

"The Palestinian problem can only be solved today if it is redefined. The issue in this day and age for people should be not so much the ownership of ancestral land but more the critical need to have a legal identity—a globally respected citizenship that allows a person to operate in the modern world."

Netanyahu is offering his potential coalition partners a choice: Drop demands Bibi cannot accept and back him in as Prime Minister or miss this best opportunity ever to end the unresolved 100 years-old Jewish-Arab conflict. 

December 21st is Israel's Judgement Day. 

Please join my Facebook Page: "Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine supporters" 

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.

Israel set to uncork Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine genie at UN

 

Israel is readying to uncork the Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine genie at the United Nations - ending UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Process Torr Wennesland’s efforts to keep the Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine Solution (Saudi Solution) from being discussed as a replacement for the failed UN 20 years-old two state solution. 

The Saudi Solution was published on 8 June 2022 in the Saudi Government-controlled Al Arabiya News. Its author - Ali Shihabi - advises Saudi Arabia’s King-designate, Crown Prince and Prime Minister - Mohammed Bin Salman - on the development of Neom - a new $500 billion mega city the size of Israel

The Saudi Solution calls for the merger of Jordan, Gaza and part of Judea and Samaria (West Bank) into one territorial entity to be called The Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine - having its capital in Amman -not Jerusalem. 

It supersedes the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative - spawned by Saudi Arabia and embraced by the UN -which calls for:

"the establishment of a sovereign independent Palestinian state on the Palestinian territories occupied since June 4, 1967 in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital."

The UN stands to become totally irrelevant if it continues to refuse to discuss the Saudi Solution following Danny Danon - Israel's former ambassador to the United Nations - claiming at the first Abraham Accords Global Leadership Summit - that Saudi Arabia may be one of the next nations to normalize relations with Israel.  

Danon stated:

"We have been in contact with the Saudis for years. I worked personally with them at the United Nations on matters of regional stability and security. It’s just a matter of time before courageous leaders step out of the shadows and full peace is achieved between all the children of Abraham. .. I expect we’ll see an agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia this year"

This was good news for those seeking an end to the 100 years-old Jewish/Arab conflict - but bad news for the UN which continues to stubbornly support the two-state solution whilst refusing to even acknowledge the existence of the game-changing Saudi Solution since its publication six months ago.  

It beggars belief that on 30 November the UN General Assembly adopted five resolutions on the questions of Palestine and the Middle East without one speaker uttering the words - "Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine Solution" - whose successful implementation would see the Arab populations in Gaza, part of the West Bank and the wretched UNRWA camps in Lebanon and Syria becoming citizens of that newly-created territorial entity. 

Cheikh Niang (Senegal)- Chair of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People - introduced its annual report containing developments relating to the question of Palestine between 1 September 2021 and 31 August 2022 - which contained not one reference to the Saudi Solution in its 27 pages. 

Israeli Prime Minister designate Bibi Netanyahu has made his intentions crystal-clear:

"I think the big prize is peace with Saudi Arabia, which I intend to achieve if I go back into office… The rise of Israeli power facilitated the Abraham Accords, and the continual nurturing of Israeli power will also nurture a broader peace with Saudi Arabia and nearly all of the rest of the Arab world. I intend to bring the Arab-Israeli conflict to a close."

The 2022 Saudi Solution offers Israel:

• sole sovereignty in Jerusalem, 
• sovereignty in part of Judea and Samaria (West Bank) and 
• abandonment of the 74 years-old Arab claim to return to Israel

The UN must respond to the hope of peace offered by the Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine genie.  

Please join my Facebook Page: "Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine supporters"  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.

NYT needs to end silence on Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine

 

The visit to Hebron this week by New York Times (NYT) columnist Thomas Friedman and Kathleen Kingsbury, The New York Times' Opinion Editor could see the NYT finally breaking its silence on the Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine proposal published in the Saudi Arabian government-controlled Al Arabiya News on June 8, 2022. 

This new plan is certainly newsworthy: The merger of Jordan, Gaza and part of Judea and Samaria (West Bank) into one territorial entity to be named The Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine - to be governed by the Hashemite dynasty that has ruled Jordan for the last 100 years and will have its capital located in Amman – not Jerusalem (Saudi Plan).

The NYT is not on its own.  

The international media has almost universally ignored the Saudi Plan – which supersedes the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative – originally formulated by Thomas Friedman himself - as his NYT op-ed dated 17 February 2002 reveals:

"Earlier this month, I wrote a column suggesting that the 22 members of the Arab League, at their summit in Beirut on March 27 and 28, make a simple, clear-cut proposal to Israel to break the Israeli-Palestinian impasse: In return for a total withdrawal by Israel to the June 4, 1967, lines, and the establishment of a Palestinian state, the 22 members of the Arab League would offer Israel full diplomatic relations, normalized trade and security guarantees. Full withdrawal, in accord with U.N. Resolution 242, for full peace between Israel and the entire Arab world. Why not?"

Friedman was surprised when he dared mention his idea to Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince and de facto ruler – Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud - at a dinner a few days later

"After I laid out this idea, the crown prince looked at me with mock astonishment and said, ''Have you broken into my desk?'' ''No,'' I said, wondering what he was talking about... ''... I have drafted a speech along those lines. My thinking was to deliver it before the Arab summit and try to mobilize the entire Arab world behind it. The speech is written, and it is in my desk.  

Friedman then proffered this advice to the Crown Prince:

"I suggested to the crown Prince that if he felt so strongly about this idea, even in draft form, why not put it on the record--only then would anyone take it seriously. He said he would think about it. The next day his office called, reviewed the crown prince's quotations and said, Go ahead, put them on the record. So here they are."

Thus was born the Friedman-inspired 2002 Arab Peace Initiative - which has gone nowhere in the last 20 years. 

The 2022 Saudi Plan - authored by Ali Shihabi - a close confidant of Saudi Arabia's current Crown Prince and de facto ruler  – Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) –shreds Friedman's 2002 idea – offering in its place a drastically different solution to end the 100 years-old Jewish-Arab conflict - if negotiations to implement it are successfully completed.

Yet Friedman has not written one word about Shihabi's proposal in the six months since its publication--despite my personal request to him to do so. Sour grapes perhaps?  

However why has the NYT not informed its readers of this Saudi Plan - that also offers Israel sole sovereignty in Jerusalem and in part of Judea and Samaria (West Bank)? If that's not front page news--what is? 

Could a well-resourced NYT investigative journalist with Saudi contacts find out whether a plan similar to Shihabi's is in MBS's desk or ask MBS directly whether he endorses Shihabi's plan? 

Thomas Friedman and Kathleen Kingsbury – some answers and an op-ed please. 

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.