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Live: Israel cracks down on Trump plan protests

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Live: Israel cracks down on Trump plan protests
'Deal of the century' receiving condemnation and support as Palestinian leaders plot next move
Key Points
Palestinian leadership roundly reject plan
Mixed response from Israel's allies
Rumours of imminent annexation bill

Live Updates

4 years ago

The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement has slammed Trump's Israel-Palestine plan, calling it the "final nail in the coffin of the moribund 'peace process'."

In a statement sent to Middle East Eye on Monday, the movement said: "The plan Trump hatched with Israel's far-right government aims to cement Israel's apartheid rule over the Palestinian people. It is the final nail in the coffin of the moribund 'peace process', making BDS the most effective response.

"Trump's so-called 'deal of the century' endorses Israel's longstanding policy of permanent occupation, colonialism and apartheid over the Palestinian people, and gives Israel the green light to continue to commit war crimes and human rights violations," it said.

The BDS movement, which is inspired by the campaign that targeted South Africa's apartheid regime, has three primary objectives: 

  • The end of Israeli occupation of Palestinian land and dismantling of Israel's illegal separation wall and settlements in the occupied West Bank
  • Full equality for Palestinian citizens of Israel
  • And for the rights of Palestinian refugees to be upheld as stipulated by the United Nations
4 years ago

Palestinian officials have rejected US President Donald Trump's plan to address the Israel-Palestine conflict, calling it an effort to "finish of the Palestinian cause."

"We reject it and we demand the international community not be a partner to it because it contradicts the basics of international law and inalienable Palestinian rights," Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said. 

"It is nothing but a plan to finish off the Palestinian cause."

4 years ago

US President Donald Trump said he will unveil his plan to address the Israel-Palestine conflict on Tuesday, despite it already being rejected by the Palestinians.

Trump told reporters on Monday that the plan, known informally as the "deal of the century", would be announced at 12:00 Washington DC time (17:00 GMT) and said he believed the Palestinians would "ultimately" come round to giving their support.

"I think it might have a chance," he said alongside visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House.

"This is an opportunity, we'll see what happens," he added.

"I think we're relatively close, but we have to get other people to agree on it also."

In response to a question about whether releasing the plan now constitutes as election interference in Israel, Trump said: "This is why I'm meeting with [Benny] Gantz - he will be here today." 

4 years ago

US President Donald Trump is meeting with the leaders of Israel's two largest parties at the White House on Monday, as he prepares to announce his proposal for ending the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

Trump will host Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at 11am local time (16:00 GMT), before meeting with Benny Gantz, Netanyahu's rival in the upcoming March election, at 12:30pm (17:30 GMT). 

According to reports, the meeting with Netanyahu is scheduled to last for over an hour, while the meeting with Gantz is scheduled to last between 30 to 45 minutes.

Netanyahu, who has called Trump "the greatest friend that Israel has ever had," has said he hopes to "make history" in Washington this week.

According to preliminary plans, the so-called "deal of the century" will see Jerusalem declared as the capital of Israel.

Israel would also claim sovereignty over the Jordan Valley and annex most illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, as well as the land linking them.

The creation of a demilitarised Palestinian state would be agreed to at a later time.

According to Haaretz, Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and the architect of the plan, said in private conversations two years ago that his job was to "make it hard" for the Palestinians to reject the plan, and "not to give them an easy way out".

The Palestinian leadership has not been invited to the talks and has rejected Trump's initiative.