Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine on rollercoaster ride to reality

 

The 2022 Saudi-based Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine solution (HKOPS) continues its rollercoaster ride from dream to reality – in spite of the United Nations (UN), the European Union (EU), the Arab League and the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) refusing to acknowledge that such a solution even exists.

These four organizations amazingly continue to call for the creation of the two-state solution: a Palestinian Arab state between Jordan and Israel for the first time in recorded history.

New York Times columnist - Thomas Friedman – sums up the inevitability of the two-state solution’s demise:

“A week of reporting from Israel and the West Bank has left me feeling that the prospect for a two-state solution has all but vanished. But no one wants to formally declare it dead and buried — because categorically ruling it out would have enormous ramifications. So, diplomats, politicians and liberal Jewish organizations pretend that it still has a faint heartbeat. I do as well. But we all know that the two-state option is not in a hospital. It’s in hospice. Only a miracle cure could save it now.”

HKOPS game-changing initiative calls for the merger of Jordan, Gaza and part of Judea and Samaria (West Bank) into one territorial entity to be governed by Jordan’s current Hashemite rulers – with its capital being located in Amman – not Jerusalem.

HKOPS will recreate - in a to-be-negotiated reduced area - the territorial entity existing between 1950 and 1967 – following Transjordan and Judea and Samaria being unified - and renamed Jordan - after the expulsion in 1948 of every Jew living in Judea and Samaria and the December 1948 Jericho Congress. 

All Arab residents of the newly-merged entity acquired Jordanian citizenship.

HKOPS:

• Trashes 21 years of Saudi Arabian and Arab League policy unsuccessfully pursuing the two-state solution
• Shreds the European Union two-state solution pushed since the 1980 Venice Declaration
• Negates the UN two-state solution contained in Security Council Resolution 2334 dated 23 December 2016.
• Recognizes Jerusalem as the sole undivided capital of Israel
• Allocates Jewish sovereignty in part of Judea and Samaria (West Bank) for the first time in 3500 years.
• Grants citizenship in the newly-created Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine to all Palestinian Arab refugees no matter where they currently live.

Recent meetings of the Arab League and the Executive Committee of the OIC have confirmed their continued support for the terminal two-state solution.

German diplomat Sven Kühn von Burgsdorff – the European Union’s representative in Judea, Samaria and Gaza defiantly declared: 

“There is no such thing as Area B and C, it’s all Palestine.”

The UN continues its eleven months’ silence on considering HKOPS as an alternative solution to replace its own failed 2016 two-state solution – perpetuating the Arab-Jewish conflict rather than trying to end it.

Yet the following news report on 22 May shows how out of touch these four organisations are:

“Israel and Saudi Arabia have been engaged in negotiations for a potential normalization agreement under Bahraini mediation for the last day, Channel 12 News correspondent Sapir Lipkin reported.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Eli Cohen are involved in the telephone negotiations. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrived in Manama in Bahrain and is holding the talks from there, mediated by the Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani.

Bahrain was chosen as a mediator for the negotiations at the request of the Saudis. A source involved in the talks told Channel 12 News that "the negotiations are very complex" and are being conducted under pressure exerted by the Biden Administration.”

RIP: two-state solution.

Welcome: Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine solution whose successful implementation could end 100 years of conflict between Arabs and Jews.

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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

Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine Solution: Alive or Dead?

 

Two seemingly contradictory news reports within the space of 48 hours have thrown into doubt the possible implementation of the Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine Solution (HKOPS) to end the unresolved 100-year conflict between Jews and Arabs.

HKOPS emanated in Saudi Arabia and was published in the Saudi-Government controlled Al Arabiya News on 8 June 2022 – and was subsequently amended – but the amended version was not published by Al Arabiya.

HKOPS called for the merger of Jordan, Gaza and part of Judea and Samaria (West Bank) into one territorial entity - to be governed by Jordan’s current Hashemite rulers – with its capital located in Amman – not Jerusalem.

The plan’s author - Ali Shihabi – a confidant of Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) – is a member of the advisory board set up by MBS to advise MBS on building a US$500 billion mega city – Neom - the size of Israel - in northwestern Saudi Arabia.

HKOPS is a potential game changer and circuit breaker since its features include:

• Trashing 21 years of Saudi Arabian and Arab League policy since 2002 calling for the creation of an independent Palestinian Arab state between Israel and Jordan on all of Judea and Samaria (West Bank) - with its capital in East Jerusalem
• Recognition of Jerusalem as the sole undivided capital of Israel
• Recognition of Jewish sovereignty in part of Judea and Samaria (West Bank) for the first time in 3500 years.
• Citizenship in the newly-created entity for all Palestinian Arab refugees no matter where they currently live.

HKOPS has not been rejected in the eleven months since it was published by:

• MBS
• Jordan’s King Abdullah
• PLO Leader Mahmoud Abbas
• Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh
• Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Back-channel secret talks between Israel and the PLO have fueled speculation that implementing HKOPS was included in their meetings.

On 18 May an article headlined “Biden admin pushing for Saudi-Israeli peace deal by end of year, officials say” - came as a bolt from the blue with Biden’s bold call.

The article claimed:

“Two senior U.S. officials said it's in Saudi Arabia's interest to get a normalization agreement with Israel while President Biden is in office because it would receive more bipartisan political support and legitimacy in Washington, especially when it is likely to include U.S. steps toward Saudi Arabia that would be unpopular.”

The article however contained a caveat:

“Any deal will likely include a “Palestinian component” that Israel will have to agree to. The Saudis said publicly that normalization with Israel will take place only if there is progress on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. It is unclear what the Saudis and the U.S. will ask for and how far Netanyahu’s far-right government will go to secure a deal.”

Successfully implementing HKOPS seemed the obvious deal that Israel would be asked to negotiate to gain a full peace with Saudi Arabia.

48 hours later that expectation was dashed when the 32nd Regular Session of the Arab League Council - held in Jeddah at the Summit Level under the Chairmanship of MBS - repeated its failed 21 years- old mantra:

“We stress the importance of intensifying efforts to achieve a comprehensive and just settlement to the Palestinian issue and find real grounds for achieving peace based on the two-state solution in accordance with international references, mainly the Arab Peace Initiative, relevant international resolutions and the principles of international law, to ensure the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state on Palestinian territory on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.”

Ditching HKOPS will only serve to perpetuate the Jewish-Arab conflict – not end it.

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

Islamic Jihad eases way for Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine

 

The decapitation of Islamic Jihad’s senior leadership in Gaza should help facilitate negotiations to successfully implement the creation of the Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine and end 100 years of conflict between Jews and Arabs.

The current conflict between Israel and Islamic Jihad was initiated when 100 rockets and mortars were fired into Israel from Gaza by Islamic Jihad following the death of a senior Islamic Jihad figure – Khader Adnan - after an 87 day hunger strike in an Israeli jail.

A targeted counter-response by Israel killed three Islamic Jihad commanders. A further 1000 missiles fired into Israel saw another three Islamic Jihad leaders eliminated by Israel.

A fragile ceasefire now exists.

Hamas stayed out of this current conflict – but has threatened to enter the fray if Israelis hold a Flag March through Jerusalem on 19 May to commemorate the reunification of Jerusalem following the 1967 Six Day War.

Israel and Islamic Jihad last clashed in August 2022 – when Hamas also did not become involved.

The Saudi-based Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine solution published on 8 June 2022 – and subsequently amended – provides:

“The proposal for this expanded kingdom includes Jordan with its current borders, the Gaza Strip, and the West Bank (areas inhabited by Palestinians that border Jordan, which means that they are not divided into islands). Hence the Israeli arguments about the need to preserve the Jordan Valley and other areas will become weak since these lands will then be under the control of a Jordanian government that has the credibility of keeping the peace with Israel. And the usual Israeli claim that it has no "peace partner" will also end."

Neither the PLO nor Hamas shall govern the new entity - whose capital will be located in Amman – not Jerusalem – which will become the capital of Israel only.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made it very clear that Israel alone will be seeking complete security control over all territory west of the Jordan River in any peace agreement:

“...West of the Jordan River ... Israel and Israel alone controls security. We control the airspace, we control the ground security, underground security in case they want to do tunnels... We’re not going to commit suicide for a favourable op-ed in the New York Times”

Islamic Jihad has demonstrated once again how it and other similar terrorist groups can freely exist in Gaza – smuggling in weapons from Iran through Sudan and Sinai and target Israel without any attempt being made by Hamas to stop them.

The Hashemites could hardly be expected to fare any better.

Jordanian Member of Parliament Imad al-Adwan’s arrest on April 22 - while carrying 12 rifles and 194 pistols in his car - at an Israeli-controlled border crossing - will strengthen Netanyahu’s demand for total security control of all territory west of the Jordan River – including the Arab population of the newly-created Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine living there.

The failure of:

• Jordan’s King Abdullah
• PLO Chairman Mahmoud Abbas
• Hamas Leader Ismael Haniyeh
• Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and
• Benjamin Netanyahu

to reject the Saudi Plan since its publication 11 months ago – could see Israel’s security concerns being agreed to - allowing the Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine to become a reality.

Expediting negotiations to implement the Saudi Plan will reduce increasing tension in Gaza and Judea and Samaria (West Bank) that could trigger a major humanitarian disaster.

Netanyahu’s decision to delay demolishing an illegal Bedouin encampment – Khan al-Ahmar – indicates Israel’s willingness to end – not perpetuate - conflict.

It would be a tragedy if this game-changing Saudi-based solution was consigned to the garbage bin of history before negotiations to successfully implement it have been fully exhausted.

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

Biden needs to back Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine solution

 

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan’s visit to Saudi Arabia this weekend for talks with Saudi leaders - including Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman – will offer Sullivan an excellent opportunity to discuss with the Crown Prince the Saudi –based Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine solution published on June 8, 2022.

Sullivan told the Washington Institute the US was still working toward a deal to normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

“Ultimately, getting to full normalization is a declared national security interest of the United States. We have been clear about that. Now as a sign of my seriousness about how much we’re focused on this, and how seriously we are taking this, I am not going to say anything further lest I upset the efforts we are undertaking on this issue.”

The pathway to such full normalization involves a resolution of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

However this does not necessarily involve the creation of a new State between Israel and Jordan – as the New York Times reported on March 9th:

“Saudi officials have said they cannot forge normal relations with Israel — a step that would include formal diplomatic interactions and likely also trade and travel agreements — before a Palestinian state is established. But some people familiar with the discussions said they believe the Saudis, who have been building closer unofficial ties to Israel, would settle for less than that. “

The “less than that” could involve implementing the Saudi-based Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine solution published in the Saudi Government-controlled Al Arabiya News on June 8, 2022 - 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” – to be ruled by the Hashemites – with its capital being in Amman – not Jerusalem (Saudi Solution).

The Plan was authored by Ali Shihabi – a confidant of Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and a member of the Crown Prince’s advisory board on Neom – a $500 billion megacity of the future being constructed in north-western Saudi Arabia on an area of land the size of Israel.

This Saudi Solution:

• Trashes the creation of a new state between Israel and Jordan – pursued by both the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and Hamas for decades – and still by the Biden administration
• Shreds Saudi Foreign Policy adopted for the last 20 years – and adopted by the Arab Peace Initiative - calling for Israel to totally withdraw from Judea and Samaria (West Bank) and enable the creation of a Palestinian state there - with its capital being in Jerusalem
• Involves the Hashemites – not the PLO or Hamas - returning to govern part of Judea and Samaria (West Bank) – as the Hashemites did between 1950 and 1967.
• Recognizes Israeli sovereignty in part of Judea and Samaria (West Bank) for the first time in 3500 years.

Remarkably Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, PLO leader Mahmoud Abbas, Hamas Leader Ismail Haniyeh, Jordan’s King Abdullah and Arab League Secretary Ahmed Aboul Gheit have not rejected this Saudi-solution in the eleven months since its publication – despite its reversal of their respective long-pursued policies.

Sullivan told the Washington Institute:

“And we are working to strengthen and expand the Abraham Accords, supporting Israel’s ultimate, final, complete integration into the Middle East region and the world. And this will be an area of continuing emphasis and focus for us over the coming period as we look to add more countries and to bring Israel even more deeply into the web of relationships in the Middle East and beyond.”

Biden’s backing for the Saudi Solution could be the circuit breaker and game changer needed to make this happen.

@IsraeliPM,@special_royal,@SecBlinken,@UN_Spokesperson, @alishihabi, @JosepBorrellF #israel, #palestine, #jordan, #saudiarabia, #middleeast

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

May 1 showdown threatens Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine & havoc

 

A showdown between Israel’s Government and High Court of Justice on May 1, 2023 concerning the demolition and evacuation of an illegal Bedouin encampment – Khan al-Ahmar - is threatening to shred the implementation of the Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine solution, cause an international uproar and create a humanitarian crisis in Judea and Samaria (West Bank) and Gaza.

Three judges of the High Court of Justice on May 24, 2018 unanimously rejected a final appeal by the 200 residents of Khan al-Ahmar to demolish and evacuate its residents – finding the Government had that right “under the letter of the law”.

Two sites for their evacuation have been rejected by the residents:

• A relocation site 8.5 km. away
• Relocation to an area adjoining Abu Dis – where Israel has reportedly invested some 80 million shekels ($23.7 million) preparing infrastructure, roads, electricity, water, sewage, a health clinic and school - all on state land

Nine adjournments had been granted since 2018 until February 1st of this year when these three Judges refused to grant the newly-installed Netanyahu Government a tenth adjournment for a further four months - creating an immediate political crisis by ordering the Government to come up with a plan of evacuation by April 2, 2023 and relisting the matter for final hearing on May 1.

The Judges were oblivious apparently to the political ramifications they were causing for the Government by refusing another adjournment and demanding a timetable for demolition.

That plan of evacuation was apparently not provided by the Government to the Court by April 2.

Instead a submission has been filed in the Court by the Government arguing that only the Government should decide on the timing of any demolition – not the Court:

“The petitioners have not proven any cause which would justify court intervention in the broad discretion the political echelon has regarding the manner and timing of the implementation of the demolition orders in the [Khan al-Ahmar] compound ... the question of timing and method of implementation the [demolition] orders are influenced by wide and varied political and security considerations. As such, and bearing in mind the classified information on which these considerations are based, the position of the political echelon is that the decision regarding the question should be left in their hands...is a complex and sensitive question, the consequences of which exceed mere construction and planning laws,” and could have consequences “for Israel’s foreign relations and security.”

Up to 445,000 protestors demonstrating throughout Israel every Saturday night for the last thirteen weeks have been demanding no suggested reforms be made by the Government to the High Court’s jurisdiction to hear and determine cases brought before it.

They have now been joined by two of the demonstrators’ most-hated politicians - Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir – who both unsuccessfully argued that the Government in its submission should allow the Court to make an order for Khan al-Ahmar’s demolition on May 1 – the last thing these protestors would want to see – resulting in continuing further demonstrations to prevent.

How is this looming showdown going to be avoided?

My humble opinion: Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu needs to confirm to the Court that one of his senior officials has been discussing implementing the Saudi-based Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine solution or alternative solutions in alleged secret back channel meetings with a senior PLO official for the last three months.

This disclosure should be sufficient for the Court to grant a further adjournment – avoiding any damaging confrontation between the Government and the Court – leaving those secret negotiations to determine the fate of Khan al-Ahmar and thousands of other illegally-built Arab structures.

What a tangled mess we weave...

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

Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine key to end conflict in Middle East

 

Visits to Saudi Arabia this past week by Jordan’s King Abdullah, PLO President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh could be the prelude to negotiations with Israel to implement the Saudi-based 2022 Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine solution (Saudi Solution) and end 100 years of unresolved conflict between Jews and Arabs.

These three visits - coming within days of each other - have taken place amidst dizzying diplomatic and economic activity over the last six weeks that have seen an easing of tension in the Middle East - including:

• Saudi Arabia and Iran agreeing in March to re-establish diplomatic relations after a 7 years break - promising:

“keenness to exert all efforts towards enhancing regional and international peace and security”

• Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus on April 18  - coming days after Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad visited Saudi Arabia on the first such trip since the Syrian civil war broke out in 2011.

• Qatar and Bahrain announcing on April 12 that they would resume diplomatic relations

• Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman launching four new special economic zones in Saudi Arabia on April 14 - offering opportunities for knowledge-sharing and creating tens of thousands of jobs.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu believes these Abbas and Haniyeh visits to Saudi Arabia and the rapprochement with Syria and Iran are:

“Maybe to tell them they are going to have to prepare themselves - maybe to try to tell them to stop doing the kind of terror they foment”

The Saudi Solution achieves that outcome - calling for:

• The merger of Jordan, Gaza and part of Judea and Samaria (West Bank) into one territorial unit under Hashemite rule to be called The Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine - with its capital to be Amman - not Jerusalem.

• Citizenship in the new entity being granted to all stateless Palestinian Arabs no matter where they presently reside.

• Jerusalem being recognised as Israel’s sole capital and

• Sovereignty in part of Judea and Samaria (West Bank) being vested in the Jewish people for the first time in 3500 years.

The common denominator existing between King Abdullah, Abbas, Haniyeh and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) since the publication of the Saudi Solution on June 8, 2022 has been their failure to expressly reject the Saudi Solution - even though it trashes separate policies and agendas espoused by each one of them for decades.

For MBS in particular - the Saudi Solution:

• Shreds Saudi policy pursued since 2002 and adopted as the Arab Peace Initiative: Creating an independent Palestinian State between Israel and Jordan with its capital located in East Jerusalem (two-state solution)

• Terminates Saudi Arabia’s endorsement of United Nations Security Council resolution 2334 in 2016 seeking a two-state solution.

Successfully implementing the Saudi Solution will establish a conflict-free zone in Israel, Gaza and Judea and Samaria (West Bank)  - complementing MBS’s amazing economic plans for Saudi Arabia -dubbed Vision 2030 - including trillion-dollar investments in mega-developments Neom and Diriyah.

King Abdullah, Abbas and Haniyeh have also unsuccessfully pursued the two-state solution since the 1993 Oslo Accords. Implementing the Saudi solution offers them a return to what actually existed  - and worked - between 1950 and 1967.

Three major hurdles to implementing the Saudi Solution have been resolved in principle in the Saudi Solution:

• Who governs the newly-merged entity
• Where the capital of that new entity will be located
• Recognition of Israeli sovereignty claims to part of Judea and Samaria (West Bank)

Security control of all the territory west of the Jordan River is the last major issue requiring resolution.

Ending conflict in the Middle East - not perpetuating it - has become Saudi Arabia’s diplomatic agenda.

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

An analyst discusses Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine solution

 

An analyst has finally surfaced to break 10 months of silence by analysts worldwide refusing to analyse or discuss the 2022 Saudi-based conversation:

Me: You need to consider the Saudi-based plan dispassionately on its merits. The whole world is concerned with the Palestinian issue and many solutions have been proposed from around the world in the past 100 years - all of which have not resulted in ending the conflict. This latest Saudi solution could be the solution to succeed where all others have failed. Shihabi [the solution’s author -ed] is a confidant of Crown Prince and Prime Minister - Mohammed Bin Salman - and a member of the Board advising the Crown Prince on Neom - a US $500 billion mega city being developed in north-west Saudi Arabia. Bin Salman has not rejected Shihabi's plan in the ten months since its publication - even though it reverses Saudi foreign policy for the last 20 years. I urge you once again to look at the Saudi plan objectively as the circuit breaker to end this long-running and tragic conflict between Arabs and Jews.

Ismail: The last advice Palestinians need is from a fascist psycho dictator MBS and his fantasy Neom team. You have cynically said the proposal would be circuit breaker, but for who? For Israel of course because that would be on the terms of a war criminal fascist settler state Israel, certainly never for oppressed Palestinians. It’s shocking to see shills like you advocating for something that is way out of line from the UN simply because it’s on the terms of oppressor state Israel. Would you apply the same logic to Ukraine under occupation, treading over the main stakeholders—the natives under brutal occupation—by adopting a proposal from the illegal oppressor occupier state’s new found friend; or go back even further, back German Nazi state and use a proposal that is “circuit breaker” acceptable to Nazi state? History shows, as far as natives and the colonised people is concerned, while coexistence within one state solution with natives living alongside the settler generation may be acceptable, nothing would be acceptable to colonised natives if it means they are being transferred over or bundled up together and removed to form a separate entity. Israel may have the best weapons on its side for now; nothing lasts forever.

Me: Your profile describes you as a Middle East strategic advisor & compliance professional. You continue to refuse to discuss the Saudi-solution - attacking its origin, its author and its next King. This is a plan that needs to be considered seriously by you. It is in my opinion a circuit breaker that is beneficial to both Jews and Arabs - whilst requiring both of them to make compromises which is what usually happens in conflicts such as this one. The Plan states: "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." That is what this plan promises if implemented. Reject it if you will - and perpetuate the conflict. Accept it - and end the conflict. Which choice as a strategic advisor would you advise the Palestinians to accept?

Ismail abruptly ended our discussion when asked why he thought PLO Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas Leader Ismail Haniyeh have not similarly denounced and rejected the Saudi-based plan for the last ten months.

Next analyst please...

@IsraeliPM,@special_royal,@SecBlinken,@UN_Spokesperson, @alishihabi, @JosepBorrellF #israel, #palestine, #jordan, #saudiarabia, #middleeast

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