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WORLD NEWS Thursday 30 January 2020

Angry Palestinians face dilemma in responding to Trump plan

By M. DARAGHMEH with Israel or dismantling
J. KRAUSS the Palestinian Authority al-
Associated Press together. That would leave
AL-KASSARAT, West Bank Israel responsible for the
(AP) — The Palestinians complicated and expen-
have furiously rejected sive task of providing ba-
President Donald Trump's sic services to hundreds of
Mideast plan that would thousands of Palestinians in
grant them limited auton- the West Bank.
omy in parts of the West The Palestinians have
Bank, while allowing Israel made such threats in the
to annex all its settlements past, with few people tak-
there and keep nearly all of ing them seriously. But this
east Jerusalem. time might be different, es-
But they have few realistic pecially if Israel proceeds
options to prevent its imple- with annexation.
mentation as Israel plows "Not taking action is not re-
ahead with plans to unilat- ally an option for them any-
erally annex territory. more," said Ibrahim Dalal-
The Western-backed Pales- sha, a Palestinian analyst.
tinian leadership will come "The tables were turned by
under mounting pressure the announcement of the
from ordinary Palestinians U.S. peace plan."
and its rivals in the Islamic Palestinian gunmen and civilians burn the U.S. and the Israeli flags, during a protest against the He expects the Palestinian
militant group Hamas to White House plan for ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, at Ein el-Hilweh refugee camp, in the Authority to respond to any
cut off security ties with Is- southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2020. annexation move by sever-
rael and the United States Associated Press. ing security contacts with
or even dismantle the in- held in the West Bank and but if they want to annex hood in Gaza, scattered Israel and the U.S. — the
creasingly unpopular Pal- Gaza, but most Palestin- our land, we don't mind chunks of the West Bank last channel remaining af-
estinian Authority. ians appear to have large- being citizens in Israel," said and some neighborhoods ter the Palestinians cut off
But such drastic moves ly shrugged off the plan. Naseem al-Jahaleen, who on the outskirts of Jerusa- all contacts with the Trump
would risk further undermin- Few Palestinians place any lives in a small Palestinian lem, all linked together by administration over its rec-
ing the international con- stock in American peace farming community in the a new network of roads, ognition of Jerusalem as Is-
sensus around solving the plans after decades of Jordan Valley, which Israel bridges and tunnels. Israel rael's capital.
conflict, which largely sup- failed initiatives, and little would be allowed to annex would control the state's Dalalsha says Palestin-
ports the Palestinians' goal is expected to change on under the plan. borders and airspace and ian security forces would
of an independent state in the ground as Israel ex- He said it might even im- maintain overall security still provide law and order
the West Bank, Gaza and tends sovereignty over set- prove things, if Israel grants authority, something critics and prevent attacks from
east Jerusalem, territories tlements it has long treated residents citizenship and al- say would rob statehood of areas under their control,
Israel captured in the 1967 as an integral part of its ter- lows them to build freely. any meaning. but would no longer work
Mideast war. ritory. Palestinian residents of the The plan would abolish the alongside Israel.
President Mahmoud Abbas "Nothing will change," said area currently live under right of return for Palestinian Going forward, the per-
appears determined to Mahmoud Abu Anwar, a Israeli military rule, which refugees displaced by the ception of the international
shore up international sup- vegetable vendor in the imposes restrictions on 1948 war and their descen- community will be key.
port. He is traveling to Cairo West Bank city of Ramallah. construction and move- dants, a key Palestinian Saudi Arabia and Egypt,
this week for meetings at The Israelis "are building on ment that do not apply to demand. The entire agree- Arab states that are close
the Arab League, and the our land and they will keep residents of nearby Jewish ment would be contingent U.S. allies, said they appre-
Palestinians' U.N. ambas- building, with or without an settlements. on Gaza's Hamas rulers ciated Trump's efforts and
sador, Riyad Mansour, said American plan. ... But we The long-awaited Trump and other armed groups called for renewed negoti-
Abbas plans to head to will remain here, no matter plan, which was unveiled disarming, something they ations without commenting
an African Union gather- what they do to us." Tuesday, would allow Is- have always adamantly re- on the plan's content. Am-
ing and the U.N. Security Over the long term, howev- rael to annex all its West jected. bassadors from the United
Council within the next two er, if Israel implements the Bank settlements — which Abbas responded to the Arab Emirates, Bahrain and
weeks. Mansour said the plan, it appears far more the Palestinians and most deal with "1,000 no's." Oman attended the unveil-
Palestinians are consult- likely to entrench a one- of the international com- He has always rejected ing, in a tacit sign of sup-
ing with council members state reality — something munity view as illegal — as violence, and few expect port. The European Union
about an as-yet-unwritten both Israeli and Palestinian well as the Jordan Valley, a new uprising in response said it was studying the pro-
resolution — a text critical leaders have long rejected which accounts for roughly to the plan. But Palestinian posal, while Germany said
of the Trump plan would — than to lead to a negoti- a fourth of the West Bank. officials have hinted they the plan "raises questions"
likely face a U.S. veto. ated solution. In return, the Palestinians may respond by suspend- that it will discuss with Euro-
Small protests have been "I prefer a Palestinian state, would be granted state- ing security coordination pean partners.q