Tens of US Diplomats, National Security Experts Decry Trump's Mideast Plan

30 former foreign policy and national security officials from three US administrations published an “open letter” harshly criticizing the Israeli-Palestinian so-called peace plan presented by President Donald Trump.

News ID: 448820

Date: 03 February 2020 - 11:35

RNA - The signatories, who served under George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, criticized the plan as harming US interests, giving the Tel Aviv regime “a green light” for annexation in the West Bank and possibly turning Israel into a binational state.

The letter said the Trump's plan is abandoning longstanding US principles, such as excluding solutions by outside parties, resolving the conflict only through direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians and avoiding unilateral steps that prejudice a final outcome.

“Abandoning those principles will have enduring and deleterious effects on US interests, Israel's security, Palestinian aspirations, and the stability of a key Arab partner, Jordan,” they stated in the letter.

The Trump’s plan “could strike a fatal blow to the two-state outcome, and lead inexorably toward a binational state in which Palestinians do not have equal rights”, they added.

The letter stated that the timing on unveiling the plan “appears aimed primarily at burnishing" Trump's "domestic political standing" and at "intervening in the highly competitive Israeli elections to help re-elect [Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu”.

Susan E. Rice, former National Security Adviser, Wendy R. Sherman, former Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, Ben Rhodes, former Deputy National Security Adviser, Jonathan Finer, former Chief of Staff to Secretary of State John Kerry, Philip H. Gordon, Special Assistant to Obama and White House Middle East Coordinator, Daniel B. Shapiro and Daniel C. Kurtzer former US Ambassadors to Israel, and Martin Indyk, former US Ambassador to Israel and US Special Envoy for Israeli–Palestinian Negotiations are among those who signed the letter, according to Axios news website.

Trump revealed his long-awaited plan — which Palestinians say heavily favors Israel — on Tuesday with Netanyahu standing by his side at the White House. The US leader said Jerusalem would remain the "undivided capital" of Israel, adding that this has "already been done".

Palestinian self-rule authority head Mahmoud Abbas has slammed Trump’s scheme, declaring “Jerusalem is not for sale” and warning that the “conspiracy deal will not pass”.

According to Fars News Agency, protesters across Palestinian territories and in several other countries have sit the streets to vent their anger at Trump’s scheme that allows the Israeli regime to consolidate its occupation of Palestinian land.

The unveiling of the Israeli-US plan for the region comes at a crucial moment for Trump and Netanyahu, both of whom are facing upcoming elections and domestic tensions.

In addition to moving the US embassy to Jerusalem, the Trump administration has also slashed hundreds of millions of dollars in humanitarian aid to the Palestinians and recognised Israeli sovereignty over the Israel-occupied Golan Heights. Palestinians have previously stressed that the US cannot be an honest broker for peace in the region, accusing it of pro-Israel bias.

847/940