Jewish groups in US blast Trump's Mideast peace plan

By Vakkas Dogantekin

ANKARA (AA) - Many Jewish organizations in the U.S. on Tuesday slammed the Trump administration's proposed peace plan to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Unveiled by President Donald Trump at the White House with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his side, the so-called peace plan offered everything the far-right Israelis have been demanding, giving Palestinians nothing concrete but vague economic promises and the tiniest glimmer of hope for statehood.

Trump tied Palestinian statehood to "firm rejection of terrorism" while Netanyahu listed a number of impossible criteria such as disarming Hamas, demilitarizing Gaza, recognizing the Jewish state and Jewish sovereignty over Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and other strategic areas in order for negotiations on statehood to even start with Palestinians.

The Jewish Democratic Council of America said the plan "is a green light for Israeli annexation of the West Bank, an intentional undermining of a viable two-state solution and another example of Trump using Israel to further his domestic political agenda."

Progressive Middle East advocacy group J Street called it "the logical culmination of repeated bad-faith steps" Trump has taken to "validate the agenda of the Israeli right, prevent the achievement of a viable, negotiated two-state solution and ensure that Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian territory in the West Bank becomes permanent."

Daniel Sokatch, CEO of the New Israel Fund, said the proposal "threatens to make the occupation permanent" and "is not the vision of Israel’s founders."

Emily Mayer, co-founder of American Jewish progressive activist group IfNotNow, also blasted the plan as "totally and utterly bankrupt," adding it "reveals the shameful way that our government has catered to the Israeli right — at the cost of Palestinian freedom — for our entire lives."

Rabbi Alissa Wise, acting co-executive director of Jewish Voice for Peace, a not-for-profit NGO, called it "an apartheid plan."

Wise added that it is "a distraction ploy by two warmongers who are prioritizing their personal election campaigns over any semblance of statecraft."

The White House released a 180-page document that elaborated on the details of the plan.

U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, in a follow-up call with reporters, said Israel would get "overriding security responsibility and control over the entire territory from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea."

- Zionist groups hail plan

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) meanwhile supported the plan, saying that they appreciate "the efforts of President Trump and his administration to work in consultation with the leaders of the two major Israeli political parties to set forth ideas to resolve the conflict in a way that recognizes our ally’s critical security needs."

AIPAC also urged the Palestinians to rejoin Israelis at the "negotiating table."

Matt Brooks, executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition, said the "president and his team have put together a bold and nuanced proposal that is deeply rooted in America’s core values of liberty, opportunity and hope for the future.”

StandWithUs CEO Roz Rothstein said they hope "this will be a step towards a better future for both peoples."

She added that "it is ultimately up to Israeli and Palestinian leaders to resolve their conflict through direct negotiations."

The so-called ‘deal of the century’ signed by Trump's senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner was roundly rejected by all Palestinians before its release.

Thousands of Palestinians took to the streets ahead of and after the plan’s formal announcement. Turkey, one of the most staunch supporters of the Palestinian cause, has slammed the plan, calling it "stillborn."

The UN in a statement said it remains committed to a two-state solution in accordance with UN resolutions on the basis of pre-1967 borders.

The #FreePalestine hashtag quickly became the top trend on Twitter.