Trump officially announces 'Middle East Peace Plan'

2020-01-29 08:40:10


	NEWS CENTER - U.S President Donald Trump proposed at a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Tuesday his plan for peace between Israelis and Palestinians known as the "Century Deal" or the Middle East Peace Plan"

	"Today is a big step toward peace," Trump said, adding that his 80-page vision for peace is quite different from the past, calling it the most comprehensive plan ever presented.

	 

	"Israel is taking a step towards peace, and the Palestinians deserve a chance for a better life. The proposed peace plan between Israelis and Palestinians is a strong path forward," he said.

	 

	"This is the first time Israel approves sharing a proposed map for the Israeli- Palestinian peace plan" he affirmed, explaining that his plan states that "Jerusalem will remain Israel's undivided capital."

	 

	Trump said the Middle East peace plan offers a realistic two-state solution, adding that the next Palestinian state will be of connected-territories.

	 

	Trump believes that his plan could be the "last chance" for Palestinians.

	 

	"The Century Deal is the opportunity of the century and we will not miss it," Netanyahu said. Israeli opposition leader, Benny Gantz, also hailed it as it is significant and represents a historic event, and he said that he would work to implement it immediately after general elections in which he will contest Netanyahu in March.

	 

	"They probably will not want it at first, but I think they (will agree to it) in the end. It is good for them. In fact it is very good to them," Trump addressed the Palestinians worries.

	 

	Palestinian leaders say they have not been invited to Washington to attend Trump's offer, and that the plan would not work without them.

	 

	The plan is the result of a three-year effort by his son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner.

	 

	Palestinians refuse to deal with Trump administration in protest against his pro-Israel policies such as moving the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which Palestinians want the eastern part of it to be the capital of their future state.

	 

	Palestinians denounced the first phase of the plan, a $50 billion economic recovery plan announced in July because the plan did not address the Israeli occupation.

	 

	Last November, Trump administration abandoned decades-old U.S. policy when the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared that Washington had no longer considered Israeli settlements on the West Bank to be contrary to the international law.