JOURNAL OF CRITICAL REVIEWS ISSN- 2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 17, 2020 THE ‘PEACE TO PROSPERITY’ AND TRUMP’S CONUNDRUM Zarina Othman1, Raed M. I. Qaddoura2, Marina Abdul Majid3 1PhD, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia ([email protected] 2Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia ([email protected]) 3PhD, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia ([email protected]) Received: 14 March 2020 Revised and Accepted: 8 July 2020 ABSTRACT: The Trump‟s 181 pages Peace to Prosperity plan, which presents solution to the roots of the Israel- Palestine conflict, is too similar to Israel‟s point of view. The Trump‟s plan minimized and lost the basic rights of the Palestinians at the time Arab and Muslim countries, in addition to the Palestinians themselves, are suffering from divisions and splits. They failed to find effective strategy to face the Trump‟s plan. This paper explains how Trump‟s administration applies the Realism to achieve the US interests in the Middle East. KEYWORDS: Peace to Prosperity, United States, Israel, Palestine, Trump, Conundrum. BACKGROUND Some observers have expressed optimism about Trump‟s announced intention to reach a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. However, the subsequent decisions made by his administration have revealed that this is not a political settlement based on the existing United Nations (UN) resolutions but rather an isolated American effort to resolve the outstanding issues in favor of Israel, in preparation for passing the “regional solution” and the normalization of Israel‟s relations with its Arab neighbors. One of Trump‟s first steps has been to appoint a special team to handle any peace talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians outside the United States (US) Department, consisting of three key Jewish advisors very close to the Israeli right in the person of Jared Kushner, his son-in- law, and the son of Jewish Orthodox immigrant parents managing Trump‟s legal office. Trump refers to state of Palestine throughout his vision as “a future state, not currently in existence that could be recognized by the United States only if the criteria described in this Vision are satisfactorily met.”1 PEACE TO PROSPERITY PLAN: THE VISION OF PEACE It is better to start with Haaretz Israeli Newspaper op-ed: Trump‟s „Deal of the Century‟ Was Written in a Way So the Palestinians Would Reject It. Maybe That Was the Plan.2 The deal of the century is not a peace deal between Palestinians and Israelis. It is a deal between Arab traders and American traders. The US embassy in Jerusalem should be considered as a red line crossed by all Muslim countries as Jerusalem is a holy city for them. Trump‟s deal is a not a political deal but entirely a commercial deal. The Gulf countries are not in need of such a trade deal, they have their own oil revenues, and do not need his $50 billion.3 This deal is a regular business deal which keeps the monarchies in the Gulf in their place and Sisi president of Egypt, meaning they want to stay in power and America offers the guarantee.4 Normalization was a shared Israeli-American goal, explained Ali Semin. 1 Trump‟s Deal of the Century „Peace to Prosperity‟. The White House. 2 Haaretz Newspaper, “Trump‟s „Deal of the Century‟ Was Written in a Way So the Palestinians Would Reject It. Maybe That Was the Plan”, 26 January 2020, https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-trump-s-deal-of- the-century-was-written-so-the-palestinians-would-reject-it-1.8443677 (Aceessed 11 August 2020). 3 Ali Semin, Istanbul, 02 July 2019, personal interview. 4 Ibid. 3033 JOURNAL OF CRITICAL REVIEWS ISSN- 2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 17, 2020 The biggest issue concerning the Israeli side was that it would no longer be a pariah state in the region and no longer be treated as an enemy. The Arab countries would no longer threaten to unite against it. Therefore, the solution was to turn it into a natural entity, which it cannot do unless it changed the way the public sees Israel and Palestine. Normalization was therefore an Israeli and an American interest. The resolution project between Egypt and Israel through the Camp David negotiations was US sponsored and so was the Oslo Accord, signed in Washington. America was the main sponsor and they agent in the Palestinian-Israeli negotiations, also in the Wadi Araba agreement between Jordan and Israel. The American pressure on the Gulf countries to normalize their relations with Israel was in their strategic interest.5 The Trump‟s plan discussed different sections to cover the whole issues in the Middle East related to this historical conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians as follows: The Exclusion of the Jerusalem File from the Negotiating Table On December 6, 2017, the Trump administration recognized the City of Jerusalem as the eternal capital of Israel, and then, the embassy of the US moved to Jerusalem on 14 May 2018, thus opening the door for other countries to recognize Jerusalem‟s new status as well.6 The US administration thwarted the Palestinian move to obtain a UN Security Council resolution to prevent a modification in the legal situation in Jerusalem, as it vetoed the condemnation of Trump's decision on December 17, 2017. This indicated clearly America‟s adoption of the Israeli position by excluding the Jerusalem issue permanently from the negotiating table, contrary to the terms of reference stated in the Oslo agreement of 1993. It was an easy job for Trump‟s administration to make such kind of decision with Arabs will to accept the presence of Israel as a new member in the Arab community.7 Figure 1 The Greater Jerusalem Bill according to an expected map to the „Peace to Prosperity‟ plan- Source: Middle East Eye 5 Mohsen Saleh, Istanbul, 23 July 2019, personal interview. 6 Abdul Rashid Moten, “US Embassy in Jerusalem: Reasons, Implications and Consequences”, Intellectual Discourse, Vol. 26, No 1, 2018, p. 5-22. 7 Yousef M. Aljamal, “Trump‟s Decision to Recognize Jerusalem as Israel‟s Capital: Domestic Motivations and Regional Circumstances”, Journal of Al-Tamaddun, Vol. 15, No 1, 2020. 3034 JOURNAL OF CRITICAL REVIEWS ISSN- 2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 17, 2020 Figure 2 The map of Jerusalem according to an expected map to the „Peace to Prosperity‟ plan- Source: Middle East Eye Trump‟s team was looking for another alternative location outside the municipal border of Israel‟s exclusive capital city and reports identified the selected location as being Abu Dis situated 4 km east of Jerusalem, a new city built in the late 1990s and a Palestinian population of 13,000.8 Most of the land in and around Abu Dis was under Israeli control and surrounded by Jewish settlements. The same situation was present in Maale Adumim with more than 40,000 inhabitants.9 The proposal of reallocating the capital to Abu Dis and changing its name to al-Quds (Arabic for Jerusalem) had already been made under the Clinton administration.10 However, this idea was taken up again recently and rejected by Mahmud Abbas. Jerusalem will continue the self-governing capital to the Israelis, and it should be undivided capital. The Palestinian new capital should be in a selected area in the East Jerusalem located with security barriers and the Palestinians can name it as Al Quds or any other term to be chosen by the them.11 Internationally, the City of Jerusalem should be recognized as Israel‟s eternal capital. At the same time, Al Quds (or any other term) should be recognized as Palestine‟s capital. The „Peace to Prosperity‟ confirmed: “Neither party shall encourage or support efforts by other countries or persons to deny the legitimacy of the other party’s capital or its sovereignty. The mayors for each capital city will establish mechanisms for regular consultation and voluntary cooperation on matters of significance to the two capitals. The embassy of the United States to the State of Israel will remain in Jerusalem. Following the signing of the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Agreement, the embassy of the United States to the State of Palestine will be in Al Quds at a location to be chosen by the United States, in agreement with the State of Palestine. The United States will recognize the State of Israel and the State of Palestine in their respective capitals and encourage other nations to relocate their embassies to Jerusalem and Al Quds, as applicable.”12 8 Jonathan Cook, “How Israel is 'cleansing' Palestinians from Greater Jerusalem”, The Middle East Eye, 01 January 2018. 9 Larry Derfner, “The Settlement That Broke the Two-State Solution”, The Foreign Policy, 26 December 2012. 10 Jonathan Cook, “How Israel is 'cleansing' Palestinians from Greater Jerusalem”, The Middle East Eye, 01 January 2018. 11 James Reinl, “Analysis: Four theories behind Trump‟s Jerusalem embassy move”, 14 December 2017, https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/analysis-four-theories-behind-trumps-jerusalem-embassy-move (Accessed 15 August 2020). 12 Trump‟s Deal of the Century „Peace to Prosperity‟. The White House. 3035 JOURNAL OF CRITICAL REVIEWS ISSN- 2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 17, 2020 The Liquidation of the Refugee Issue The US administration has already taken steps to remove the refugee issue, one of the most difficult issues in final status issues, and submitted a memorandum to the presidency of The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) on 16 January 2018, informing it that it will suspend $65 million of its support.13 In this context, Foreign Policy magazine revealed Kushner‟s efforts to get rid of UNRWA, as part of a wider steps led by President Trump and the US Congress intended to settle the issue of refugees, and the issue of returning to their home from negotiations.