The Council for the National Interest Foundation (CNI) just distributed a draft of the Obama (Israeli-Palestinian) peace plan, which it said was expected to be released at the UN Assembly meeting in New York, or at the G-20 Summit in Pittsburgh. The International Middle East Media Center’s website leaked the alleged draft which was given to them by Palestinian Legislator Hasan Khreisha.
A cursory reading of its points makes clear that the Israeli government played a big role in writing the plan. The Palestinians will not be pleased, as it fails to heed Carter’s warning, Peace Not Apartheid. No peace will come of this plan as it does not even contain Bush’s requirements of contiguity and sovereignty. Most importantly no borders are given, no settlements are removed, and no land swaps mentioned. In 1948, subsequent to the ethnic cleansing of two thirds of the Palestinian people, and the war with Arab states it provoked, the land mass constituting the Palestinian territories was only 22% of original Palestine.
According to Khreisha, the draft includes ten main points detailed as follows:
- International presence in the Jordan Valley, Palestinian Plains area, and other areas in the West Bank.
- Annexing some parts of East Jerusalem to remain under Israeli control, while Muslim holy site would be under Arab control.
- All Palestinian factions would be dissolved and transformed into political parties.
- Large settlement blocs in the West Bank would remain under Israeli control, while negotiations would be conducted within three months of the plan agreement to discuss the future of smaller settlements.
- Several areas in the West Bank would be disarmed, and Israeli would maintain aerial control.
- Intensifying the Palestinian-Israeli security coordination.
- The Palestinian Authority would not be allowed to have military alliances with regional countries
- The United States would guarantee the establishment of a Palestinian State in the summer of 2011.
- Allowing an agreed upon number of refugees to return, and to be settled in the Plains area and other areas in the West Bank, particularly in the cities of Ramallah and Nablus. A special fund for supporting the refugees would also be established.
- Israel starts releasing the Palestinian political detainees immediately after the peace deal is signed. Three years would be allocated for the release of the detainees.
Israel is expected to accept these terms on the premise that the Obama administration adopts a stronger position towards halting Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
Of course Israel would accept these terms. It contains everything Israel ever wanted per the Allon Plan, whereby it was believed that Israel could wrest control of more Palestinian territory, 40-50%, no borders, no sovereignty for Palestine (like air space), no capital in East Jerusalem, limited refugees into Palestinian areas (not Israel), retention of the Jordan Valley, no land swaps, no removal of settlements already in the West Bank, and restrictions in Palestinian areas like areas abutting Jordan.
No wonder Netanyahu was eager to meet with Mitchell in England.
With this plan, Obama is just setting up the Palestinians as the faulted party when they simply reject it, reject peace. This is an Israeli Middle East peace plan, not an American one, as it does little more than reward Israel’s apartheid, military occupation, and colonialism of Palestinian lands over the past 42 years. It is Greater Israel albeit laden with bantustans collectively called Palestine.
