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Israel has committed too many crimes. It’s time to stop supporting them. (1 Viewer)

The slumlords’ peace

We Palestinians thought we had it bad the past 25 years since the signing of the Oslo Accords under the reign of American and Israeli technocrats and "security experts". And with good reason.

This revolving door of Foggy Bottom "doves", Arlington spooks and other denizens of the Pentagon and swanky Georgetown restaurants - working closely with counterparts in Tel Aviv - convinced the mediocre Palestinian leadership that a state was attainable if only they would give up just a little more.

And so after two and a half decades of being mugged at the negotiating table, the Palestinians have nothing to show for the moribund "peace process". No state. No sovereignty. No Jerusalem. No human rights. No borders (let alone control of borders). No end to the mushrooming illegal Jewish-only settlements on stolen Palestinian land or the more than a half century of Israeli military rule over Palestinians.

Meanwhile, water and other resources are siphoned to the Israeli state and settlers as Israel today pushes the idea of officially annexing swaths of the occupied West Bank. And of course, despite promises to connect Gaza and the West Bank, the two territories have remained divided - with Gaza subject to a brutal siege and periodic pulverisation by Israeli and American munitions.

In essence, Palestinians live under a form of apartheid with the timid stamp of Palestinian approval from the unelected Palestinian "Authority", itself a pseudo-entity created by the Americans and Israelis to outsource the burden of keeping the restive Palestinian natives in their place. Can't get much worse, right?

Wrong. Enter two infamous slumlords (and sons of slumlords): Donald Trumpand Jared Kushner.

These scions of sketchy New York real estate empires are currently doing business out of the White House, and Kushner the younger has been put in charge of Middle East peace, where he has been pimping something called the "deal of the century".

Unfortunately, anyone who has heard anything about (or, God forbid, lived through) the practices of said real estate moguls knows that this so-called "deal of the century" does not portend well for the Palestinians.

If only the Palestinians problems were limited to being duped into an overpriced lease for a shoebox apartment in the East village with shoddy renovations, no gas or heat, broken appliances and vermin infestations. But the scale of the real estate swindle the Palestinians are being dragged into is much greater, as is the human tragedy that will follow in its wake.

Let's take a look at some of the purported highlights, as leaked in the Israeli press last month:

First, there is no mention of the return of Palestinian refugees (homeless since 1948) to a quasi-statelet of "New Palestine". Of course, Palestinians will be ignored when they insist they would be perfectly happy with "old" Palestine (ie, "historic Palestine").

Second, Palestinians get no control of their own borders and no army but must pay the Israeli army a fee to protect their reservation, err, territory.

Third, Palestinians will not get back any Palestinian land currently occupied by hundreds of thousands of illegal Israeli settlers but will instead receive a slice of land donated by the dictator of Egypt, General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. No matter that this land swap will see the Palestinians give up their rich ancestral agricultural lands in the West Bank for a slice of the Sinai Desert. Oh yeah, and the Palestinians will apparently have to pay rent to the Egyptians for this piece of prime real estate. Maybe Kushner and Trump can throw in some quality condos, too. For a price, of course.

For anyone who cares about justice, human rights and a lasting peace in Palestine/Israel, the leaked reports of Kushner's deal makes for grim reading, as does the economic portion of the plan, officially unveiled this past week by Kushner and the White House. But the nuts and bolts of the deal matter far less than the spirit of it and the general parameters, which we know consist of throwing cash and empty promises of prosperity at the Palestinians in the absence of any substantive political and territorial concessions.

Considering the way that the Trumps and Kushners have always done business, however, it's not at all surprising to see how ungenerous the deal is for the Palestinians. For only slumlords could come up with a deal whose terms are so mean-spirited, so insulting, so falsely advertised. And only slumlords like the Trumps and Kushners know how to prey on the susceptible customer, in this case, a stateless nation of refugees and their descendants.

Fittingly, they have just the supporting cast to get the job done, including a lineup of Washington reruns who should probably have been locked up by now, including the likes of John Bolton, Elliot Abrams (currently executing a coup in Venezuela but surely in the loop on this one), and the bellicose Mike Pompeo to name a few.

Then, there are the foreign cosponsors of the deal in the form of two long-standing "democracies" and the closest regional allies of the United States - the absolute monarchy of Saudi Arabia under the Yemeni-butchering, journalist-dismembering Crown Prince MBS; and the apartheid state of Israel under the extreme right-wing demagogue Benjamin Netanyahu.

With this dream team drafting up the Palestinians' fate, is it any surprise that the future looks nightmarish? Perhaps the only hope for us to wake up before it is too late is the shifting opinion of millions of Americans who increasingly see the US one-sided support of a deeply flawed Israeli regime to be a hindrance to peace.

I certainly hope so, because, like most Palestinians, I don't want any landlord lording it over Palestine, let alone two whose properties most sane New Yorkers wouldn't touch with a 10-foot pole.

 
Surprisingly enough, @ren hoek I actually agree with most of the article you posted- surprising because you and I never agree on this particular issue. The criticism is well founded. This is an awful plan.

That being said, there are a couple of aspects to the economic side of the plan which I happen to like: first, the creation of a fast transit program between Gaza and the West Bank. This should have been done decades ago and would help integrate the two communities. Second, an economic infusion into Gaza and the West Bank- although we need to do this thoughtfully in such a way that it will actually serve to boost their future economies, and not just give money to corrupt leaders. One obvious way is tourism. Israel makes tons of money off of Christian tourists every year. I would think many of these Christians would be just as eager to visit Bethlehem, Nazareth, Jericho, etc. Muslims would as well. If only these areas were safe to visit, the amount of revenue would be staggering. If anything would immediately improve the conditions of the average Palestinians, this would be it.

But of course these are peripheral ideas.  The main issues are what they always were: there needs to be a state of Palestine. It needs to recognize the state of Israel and the two nations need to be at peace. There needs to be a settlement of Jerusalem, the right of return to Israel for older Palestinians, and the question of Israeli settlers remaining in the West Bank and Gaza.

Until these issues are resolved, there will always be bloodshed no matter what we propose.

 
It gets worse. As the new envoy to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process Trump has named.... some guy who’s an old pal of Jared Kushner’s.

>>Axios reports most of Greenblatt’s responsibilities will be transferred to Avi Berkowitz. Who is Avi Berkowitz? He’s a 29-year-old Jared Kushner friend who graduated from law school in 2016...

From there he joined the Trump campaign as “assistant director of data analytics,” where he was tasked with producing the campaign’s “pre- and post-presidential-debate talk show that became a nightly Facebook Live discussion in the weeks leading up to the election,” according to a 2017 Business Insider profile. The story describes Berkowitz as “Kushner’s 28-year-old protégé,” which is one of the funnier thumbnail résumé descriptions you’ll ever see. He is the protégé to a young political dilettante who married into the family of a reality-television star who was elected president despite knowing almost nothing about public policy.<<

 
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SaintsInDome2006 said:
It gets worse. As the new envoy to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process Trump has named.... some guy who’s an old pal of Jared Kushner’s.

>>Axios reports most of Greenblatt’s responsibilities will be transferred to Avi Berkowitz. Who is Avi Berkowitz? He’s a 29-year-old Jared Kushner friend who graduated from law school in 2016...

From there he joined the Trump campaign as “assistant director of data analytics,” where he was tasked with producing the campaign’s “pre- and post-presidential-debate talk show that became a nightly Facebook Live discussion in the weeks leading up to the election,” according to a 2017 Business Insider profile. The story describes Berkowitz as “Kushner’s 28-year-old protégé,” which is one of the funnier thumbnail résumé descriptions you’ll ever see. He is the protégé to a young political dilettante who married into the family of a reality-television star who was elected president despite knowing almost nothing about public policy.<<
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Does it really matter who the new envoy is? It's not like either side has any interest in peace.  Both sides goal is ethnic cleansing of the other group. How can the US  mediate this when we clearly favor 1 side? So this jackass is probably inexperienced, uninformed and incompetent? Unless he is blatantly corrupt that would make him an above average Trump representative.

 
timschochet said:
Netanyahu announces that if he is reelected next week, Israel will annex parts of the West Bank: 

https://www-m.cnn.com/2019/09/10/world/netanyahu-israel-west-bank-jordan-valley/index.html?r=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F

Well this ought to help with the peace effort! What could possibly go wrong? 
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Jared probably signed off on it already...

The US was informed about Netanyahu's announcement before he made it, the official said, adding that the administration does not believe Netanyahu's announcement will get in the way of an eventual peace settlement.
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the administration does not believe Netanyahu's announcement will get in the way of an eventual peace settlement.

If so, they must be insane. Does the White House truly believe that the Palestinians are just going to accept subjugation forever?

 
Insomniac said:
Is there a real difference between creating new settlements on the West Bank for the last 50 years and annexing parts of it? 
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Yes. Don’t forget that the previous PM, Sharon, removed some of the settlements from Gaza, possibly the first time in history that any nation had ever voluntarily removed settlements. 

Until they’re officially annexed there was always the possibility of removing them as part of a 2 state solution, which is still ultimately the only means to achieve peace. 

 
timschochet said:
Yes. Don’t forget that the previous PM, Sharon, removed some of the settlements from Gaza, possibly the first time in history that any nation had ever voluntarily removed settlements. 

Until they’re officially annexed there was always the possibility of removing them as part of a 2 state solution, which is still ultimately the only means to achieve peace. 
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There was just never any justification for any settlements in the West Bank or Gaza. When the cost of defending the Gaza settlements became too great they withdrew them. or do you contend that Israel shut them down due to moral considerations?

There isn't going to be any peace, neither side is interested.

 
timschochet said:
the administration does not believe Netanyahu's announcement will get in the way of an eventual peace settlement.

If so, they must be insane. Does the White House truly believe that the Palestinians are just going to accept subjugation forever?
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How is this different from previous administrations?  Israel has been knocking down houses and building new ones in the West Bank for decades with little to no resistance from the West.

 
Among other things, this is a major defeat for Donald Trump, and it will be very interesting to see how he reacts. It also may have a big impact on what we do about Iran and Saudi Arabia.

 
timschochet said:
My source was MSNBC. Other sources continue to say it’s too close to call: 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/middleeast/live-news/israel-second-election-2019-dle-intl/index.html
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Chemi Shalev‏ @ChemiShalev

Once bitten twice shy Benny Gantz refrains from premature declaration (of victory). But he does venture “The way things stand now, it seems we have accomplished our mission”

4:32 PM - 17 Sep 2019

Chemi Shalev‏ @ChemiShalev

Netanyahu on way to give speech that his advisers say will be “brief and consequential”

4:44 PM - 17 Sep 2019

 
timschochet said:
Jerusalem Post suggests that Trump may have cost Netanyahu the election: 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/m.jpost.com/Israel-News/Did-Trump-lose-the-election-for-Netanyahu-Analysis-602100/amp
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There was also no on-the-record confirmation of support from the White House for Netanyahu’s Jordan Valley annexation decision. Netanyahu also did not receive the defense pact he sought from the US, making do with only a vague promise from Trump to speak about it the next time they meet. This despite Netanyahu going to London two weeks ago just to meet with the new US defense secretary, Mark Esper.
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You'd think the US & Israel discussing a defense alliance - which would mean a formal commitment of the US to defend Israel - would be bigger news in the US. That was pretty good for Netanyahu. And the US did not oppose the annexation action, which would have been standard under any prior R or D US administration.

 
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ren hoek said:
https://twitter.com/benabyad/status/1087276396630736896

Campaign ads for Benny Gantz - former Israeli military chief & Netanyahu election rival - boast of how many Palestinians he killed, & how much of Gaza he destroyed. "Only the strong wins." "Israel before everything."
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ren hoek said:
Weird how both candidates up for election in Israel are genocidal maniacs.  Israel isn't racist though!  Shining beacon on a hill!  
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Nothing will fundamentally change.  The two-state solution is dead.  They will continue their genocidal cleansing of Palestinians, this Gantz guy will be Trump’s next buddy, and Israel will continue its slow descent into a racist apartheid state.  

 
ren hoek said:
Nothing will fundamentally change.  The two-state solution is dead.  They will continue their genocidal cleansing of Palestinians, this Gantz guy will be Trump’s next buddy, and Israel will continue its slow descent into a racist apartheid state.  
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Into?

 
 Netanyahu was chosen to form a government.  I was hoping he wouldn't be picked but he failed last time around so lets see how it goes this time.  

 
His lawyer is gonna need a lawyer:

#Breaking: PM Netanyahu's personal attorney & confidant indicted for money laundering in $2.2 billion "Submarine Affair." Businessman accused of bribing former Navy commander to tune of $160,000. Case involves massive military acquisition.

The State Prosecutor's Office announced Thursday that it intends to file an indictment against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's attorney and confidante, David Shimron, for money laundering in a corruption case dubbed "The Submarine Affair." 

The Prosecutor's Office also announced that it will indict businessman Miki Ganor, who was Thyssenkrupp's representative in Israel, for bribery. Former Israel Navy chief Eliezer Marom will also be indicted for bribery in the affair. 

 
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Trump has apparently announced his plan for a two state solution. Obviously if he can accomplish this, it will be a major victory.

Three things I've read that have concerned me - 

1) Trump said the creation of a Palestinian state would be dependent on Palestinians taking steps to become self-governing - I don't know what that means. They are effectively self-governing now, no?

2) Trump said Jerusalem will remain Israel's undivided capital. Palestine will have a capital in East Jerusalem.

3) The plan more than doubles the territory currently under Palestinian control, although it also recognizes Israeli sovereignty over major settlements in the West Bank.

--

I defer to some experts (Tim?) to opine as to whether this has a chance of getting approved by both sides.

 
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whoknew said:
Trump has apparently announced his plan for a two state solution. Obviously if he can accomplish this, it will be a major victory.

Three things I've read that have concerned me - 

1) Trump said the creation of a Palestinian state would be dependent on Palestinians taking steps to become self-governing - I don't know what that means. They are effectively self-governing now, no?

2) Trump said Jerusalem will remain Israel's undivided capital.

3) The plan more than doubles the territory currently under Palestinian control, although it also recognizes Israeli sovereignty over major settlements in the West Bank.

--

I defer to some experts (Tim?) to opine as to whether this has a chance of getting approved by both sides.
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I’ll have to read more. It doesn’t seem much different than Obama’s plan, or Bush’s plan, or Clinton’s plan, except that Jerusalem was proposed to be an international city. 

The Palestinian opposition to these plans in the past have always been based on two points: 

1. They want Jerusalem. 

2. They want the right of return into Israel. 

 
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