US President Donald Trump, who until now has not spoken of the two-state solution, intends to recognize a Palestinian state, according to the report.
By TOVAH LAZAROFFUpdated: NOVEMBER 19, 2017 11:39Trump delays moving US embassy to Jerusalem (credit: REUTERS)
The Trump administration’s peace plan won’t be based on the pre-1967 lines and would not include the evacuation of West Bank settlements or the uprooting of Arabs, Channel 2 reported Saturday night as it unveiled what it said were details of the plan.US President Donald Trump, who until now has not spoken of the two-state solution, intends to recognize a Palestinian state, according to the report.The plan involves territorial swaps but Trump does not plan to hold to the demand of the Obama administration, the Palestinians and the international community that it must be based on the Green Line.It is believed that under the proposal now in the works, the US accepts Israel’s contention that the IDF must have a military presence in the Jordan Valley, but has not yet acquiesced to Israel’s demand for the IDF to be the military force that secures the West Bank.The issue of dividing Jerusalem is not on the table, according to Channel 2.Relocating the US Embassy to Jerusalem and official recognition of the city as Israel’s capital will be decided upon only at the end of the process.The deal will be worked out with Arab countries in the region, and Saudi Arabia will play a major role. The US would also like to hold a regional conference on the issue of Israeli-Palestinian peace.To help Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas accept the deal, the Palestinians will receive hundreds of millions of dollars for economic development, which will come mainly from Sunni-Arab countries.The Trump administration, at this point, does not consider either the Israelis or the Palestinians as being an obstacle to a peace deal, according to Channel 2.A White House official denied the claims in Channel 2's report, however.
"There is constant speculation and guessing about what we are working on and this report is more of the same," a White House official said. "It is not an accurate representation, rather it is a mix of possibilities and ideas that have existed for decades."What we can say is we are engaged in a productive dialogue with all relevant parties and are taking a different approach than the past to create an enduring peace deal," the official continued. "We are not going to put an artificial deadline on anything and we have no imminent plans beyond continuing our conversations. As we have always said, our job is to facilitate a deal that works for both Israelis and Palestinians, not to impose anything on them."Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office immediately dismissed the report.“The prime minister’s response will depend on the content of the proposal. First and foremost [will be the question of whether] it meets the security and national interests of the State of Israel,” the Prime Minister’s Office said.But the details are consistent with statements Netanyahu has made in recent months, as well as efforts by the Trump’s team to support economic initiatives for the Palestinians.Netanyahu has said that Trump’s team is thinking “out of the box” when it comes to Israeli-Palestinian peace, and has repeatedly stated that he does not intend to uproot Jews or Arabs while hinting that some settlements could be part of a Palestinian state.Michael Wilner contributed to this report.