Opinion: Message to President Trump – Israel is Not a Nation of Profits

What do we actually know about Trump’s unreleased “Deal of the Century”?

By David Bedein, Founder, Israel Resource News Agency and Director, Center for Near East Policy Research, Philadelphia and Jerusalem

US President Donald Trump passionately works for renewal of peace talks between Israel and Palestinian Authority.

In that context, President Trump is preparing to release his “deal of the century” after the Israeli elections on April 9th.

What can we expect from the Trump “Deal of the Century”?

No one knows details of that Middle East peace proposal that he will reveal after the Israeli elections on April 9th.

What we do know from sources in the U.S., the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), and Israel is that the Palestinian Authority (PA), run by the PLO, will not be replaced and will continue to function.

That means that PLO policies will persist.

What we know is that the Trump plan does change the status of 5,000,000 descendants of Arab refugees from the 1948 war who live in 59 “temporary” UNRWA refugee camps where they have been living for the past 70 years under the illusion of the “right of return” to villages lost in 1948 even if they no longer exist.

What we know is that the Trump plan does not introduce a peace education program to replace the new PA war curriculum in all PA and UNRWA schools, which espouse a “right of return by force of arms” program.

What we know is that the Trump Plan does not veto he unprecedented law on the books of the PA, which provides a handsome gratuity to anyone who murders a Jew, and to the family of anyone who kills a Jew.

What we know is that US President Donald Trump’s senior Middle East adviser, son-in-law Jared Kushner, told Sky News the Trump plan will call for a united Palestinian leadership and promote “broad economic impact” for the Palestinian Authority, which will also benefit Israeli business community.

The mistake of the 25-year-long Middle East peace process has been that little attention was paid to the necessary legislation and education for peace from the PA, which works under the PLO, which remains a terrorist organization. What about the economic incentives that Trump may offer?

There can be only one response to the notion that “economics is the answer: which is that Israel l was not founded as a “nation of profits.”

David Bedein