'Trump’s $50-billion Middle East plan is a win-win for Israel & a loss for Palestine'

Source: RT News

22 Jun, 2019

© Reuters / Fabrizio Bensch

The new multibillion US investment plan unveiled without the political solution part is beneficial to Israel, but not to Palestine, experts told RT.

The so-called "opportunity of the century," which US President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, presented to media on Saturday, is entitled to create a million jobs in the West Bank and Gaza, while doubling Palestine's GDP in 10 years. It would be achieved through donors, mainly the Gulf States, pouring $50 billion into the West Bank and Gaza as well as into Jordan, Egypt and Lebanon where several million Palestinian refugees are staying.

There's, however, nothing new about such a plan, Saad Nimr, professor of political science at Birzeit University, told RT.

"During Shimon Peres as a Prime Minister in Israel (1995-96), he tried that approach of talking economic ease to the Palestinians instead of talking about a political solution," but no results were achieved.

Nimr reminded of a World Bank report, which said that Palestine would earn $5.5 billion extra every year if it had access to the Mediterranean and Dead Sea, which is now blocked by Israel.

The plan is basically an ultimatum for Palestine, which may be coerced into accepting it due to the lack of other options, former US diplomat Jim Jatras told RT.

"This is depending on the assumption that Palestinians have no place to go. 'You don't like this deal? – great. Wait till the next one which is even worse for you. You don't like that? Wait till the next one, which will be even worse.'"

The Palestinians are rejecting the US plan because "the only purpose for the Americans is Israel's prosperity," Nimr said. Jatras agreed that Palestinians understand that it would be skewed in favor of Israel, with not only Israelis retaining settlements in the West Bank, but further expanding their control over land and water resources.

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