{"id":380873,"date":"2018-10-14T02:51:29","date_gmt":"2018-10-14T01:51:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/newswire\/the-art-of-no-mideast-deal-consortiumnews\/"},"modified":"2018-10-14T02:51:29","modified_gmt":"2018-10-14T01:51:29","slug":"the-art-of-no-mideast-deal-consortiumnews","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/newswire\/the-art-of-no-mideast-deal-consortiumnews\/","title":{"rendered":"The Art of No Mideast Deal \u2013 Consortiumnews"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Donald Trump once advertised an Israeli-Palestinian peace plan as his greatest achievement-in-the-making, but like many of the president\u2019s negotiations, the Kushner-Greenblatt strategy is a one-sided bargain, writes Patrick Lawrence.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

By Patrick Lawrence<\/strong><\/span>
Special to Consortium News<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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We now have two answers. <\/span><\/p>\n

One, whatever comes out of this undertaking will not be a deal. Since the Palestinians have refused to negotiate, it will be an imposed plan entirely to Israel\u2019s advantage. <\/span><\/p>\n

Two, when the White House does announce its Mideast framework, it is unlikely to do much more than consolidate the status quo. \u201cIt\u2019ll be a cease-fire, not a peace plan, even if the United States and Israel could get Palestinians to go along,\u201d Richard Falk, an international lawyer and longtime authority on the Mideast question, said in a recent conversation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Wait Until Next Year<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Little was made of it, but Trump took a big step back from his deal of deals during the recent General Assembly general debate at the United Nations. We\u2019ll show the world our plan \u201cover the next two to three to four months,\u201d <\/span>he announced<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Clearly the administration is unsurprisingly kicking its proposals well into next year. By all indications, it has so far found little buy-in<\/a> from any Arab nation, let alone the Palestinians. <\/span><\/p>\n

Jared Kushner and Jason Greenblatt, who have led the administration effort for 20 months, have plenty on the table. While they have disclosed no details, Trump\u2019s son-in-law and adviser on Israel appear to have structured a grand plan that takes Palestinian self-determination out of the equation in return for economic aid and the promise of prosperity. In other words, surrender your principles, and we\u2019ll pay you for it. <\/span><\/p>\n

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