Palestine has removed itself from negotiations — yet the White House will reportedly still release a plan
While Palestinian leaders have made it clear that they don’t want to consider Donald Trump’s Middle East peace plan, the administration is reportedly still pushing forward.
According to a new Axios report, the White House is allegedly considering moving forward with a “peace plan” for the region even if the Palestinians are unwilling to participate and negotiate. The report comes from anonymous “U.S. senior officials” who spoke to Axios:
The U.S. officials say the administration won’t impose on the Israelis or Palestinians to accept the plan, but may release it so the parties and international community can judge it at face value.
Just last week, Trump threatened to cut off U.S. aid to the Palestinians if their leaders don’t agree to peace talks with Israel. In January, reports surfaced that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was “angered” by a preliminary plan, parts of which were leaked one month after the White House announced it would recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. In a speech to the Palestine Liberation Organization’s Central Council, Abbas called the reported peace plane “the slap in the face of the century,” according to the Jerusalem Post.
If the Axios report is true, this would further speculation that the White House might not have both parties’ best interests at heart – contrary to earlier proclamations.