Weekly Commentary: Given Palestinian Cold Shoulder to Trump Can Israel Be
Complacent About Trump Deal?
Dr. Aaron Lerner 14 December, 2017

There is no indication that the Palestinian reaction to the Trump Jerusalem
declaration will prevent the Trump team from proposing a "deal".

By the same token, it doesn't appear that the behavior of the Palestinians
is having any impact on the "deal" that the Trump team is preparing.

From the very first day, Mahmoud Abbas openly defied President Trump's one
explicit demand of the Palestinians: that they stop rewarding Palestinians
who engage in violence against Israelis.

And at no time since then, to the best of my knowledge, has anyone in the
Trump team, or for the matter President Trump himself, indicated that a
"deal" would have to take into account this Palestinian view of violence
against Israelis and the ramifications of the attitude.

Mr. Trump's Jerusalem declaration may be a hint of things to come.

I don't buy the excuses that the Trump team are a bunch of clueless shallow
novices.

The Trump team knew that the reaction would have been pretty much the same
if there had been an immediate policy change to record "Israel" as place of
birth in the passports of Americans born in Israeli hospitals in Jerusalem.

And they most certainly were aware of this issue that went all the way to
the Supreme Court.

But there was no policy change.

Not in the passports. Not in anything.

As for the embassy move, its been pushed off to Mr. Trump's second term. Or
beyond.

In point of fact, the major long term achievement of Mr. Trump's declaration
is that the American Christians in his "base" won’t bother him any more when
he signs the postponement every half year.

The "deal" could be the same. A lot of heart warming verbiage for Israel
but no meat.

So what should we do?

Well for one thing, we have to be explicit with the Trump team that a
sovereign Palestinian state is simply not in the cards.

A billion four star generals can endorse the most impressive security plan
the world has ever seen and a sovereign Palestinian state is simply not in
the cards.

Why?

Ask anyone who has any understanding of international law and they will tell
you: if that sovereign Palestinian state voids the security plan it remains
a sovereign state.

Its as simple as that.

We need to make this crystal clear to the Trump team.

And we can most certainly share with them plans and ideas for moving on
subject to this necessary condition: that a sovereign Palestinian state is
simply not in the cards.
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Arab-Israeli relations

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