Beyond the Headlines: the Middle East peace plan. Explained


James Haines-Young
  • English
  • Arabic

Two and a half years after US administration began drafting a plan for a lasting peace between Israel and Palestinians, it is finally here. On January 28, Donald Trump unveiled his vision for peace in the Middle East in a 181-page report called Peace to Prosperity: A Vision to Improve the Lives of the Palestinian and Israeli People.

Welcomed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, it has been rejected by Palestinian officials.

On this week’s episode of Beyond the Headlines, we delve into the plan, what it means and what its rejection by Palestinians means for the region.

  • Palestinian demonstrators burn tyres during a protest against the US brokered Middle East peace plan, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, on January 29, 2020. AFP
    Palestinian demonstrators burn tyres during a protest against the US brokered Middle East peace plan, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, on January 29, 2020. AFP
  • Palestinian demonstrators burn pictures depicting US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and repsentations of US and Israeli flags during a protest in the southern Gaza Strip January 29, 2020. Reuters
    Palestinian demonstrators burn pictures depicting US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and repsentations of US and Israeli flags during a protest in the southern Gaza Strip January 29, 2020. Reuters
  • Palestinian demonstrators in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, on January 29, 2020. AFP
    Palestinian demonstrators in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, on January 29, 2020. AFP
  • Palestinian students take part in a protest in the southern Gaza Strip January 29, 2020. Reuters
    Palestinian students take part in a protest in the southern Gaza Strip January 29, 2020. Reuters
  • A Palestinian demonstrator argues with Israeli forces during a protest in Jordan Valley in the Israeli-occupied West Bank January 29, 2020. Reuters
    A Palestinian demonstrator argues with Israeli forces during a protest in Jordan Valley in the Israeli-occupied West Bank January 29, 2020. Reuters
  • A demonstrator holds up a cane and a Palestinian flag in Jordan Valley in the Israeli-occupied West Bank January 29, 2020. Reuters
    A demonstrator holds up a cane and a Palestinian flag in Jordan Valley in the Israeli-occupied West Bank January 29, 2020. Reuters
  • Palestinians clash with Israeli security forces following a protest in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, 29 January 2020. EPA
    Palestinians clash with Israeli security forces following a protest in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, 29 January 2020. EPA
  • Palestinians clash with Israeli security forces following a protest in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, 29 January 2020. EPA
    Palestinians clash with Israeli security forces following a protest in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, 29 January 2020. EPA
  • Palestinians clash with Israeli security forces following a protest in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, 29 January 2020. EPA
    Palestinians clash with Israeli security forces following a protest in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, 29 January 2020. EPA
  • Palestinians clash with Israeli security forces following a protest in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, 29 January 2020. EPA
    Palestinians clash with Israeli security forces following a protest in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, 29 January 2020. EPA
  • Israeli security forces monitor Palestinian demonstrators protesting near the West Bank village of Tubas, near the Jordan Valley, in the occupied West Bank on January 29, 2020. AFP
    Israeli security forces monitor Palestinian demonstrators protesting near the West Bank village of Tubas, near the Jordan Valley, in the occupied West Bank on January 29, 2020. AFP
  • Palestinians clash with Israeli security forces following a protest in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, 29 January 2020. EPA
    Palestinians clash with Israeli security forces following a protest in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, 29 January 2020. EPA
  • Palestinians clash with Israeli security forces following a protest in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, 29 January 2020. EPA
    Palestinians clash with Israeli security forces following a protest in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, 29 January 2020. EPA
  • An Israeli border policeman fires tear gas during clashes with Palestinian demonstrators following a protest in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, on January 29, 2020. AFP
    An Israeli border policeman fires tear gas during clashes with Palestinian demonstrators following a protest in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, on January 29, 2020. AFP

The peace process has been ongoing for 27 years, since the Oslo accords in the early 1990s. No vision has made it to a final deal that sees the formation of an independent Palestine and an end to one of the longest-running conflicts in the world.

Mr Trump’s announcement is still just a vision, but unlike past proposals, it starts off with a final deal that Israel accepts and the administration will now have to work backwards to get Palestinians to agree.

But there’s a catch – the US closed the Palestinian diplomatic mission in Washington and cut ties. It already recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, upending decades of US policy that the final status of the holy city should be agreed in talks.

It also lays the groundwork for the US to recognise the annexation of parts of the West Bank and Jordan Valley by recognising the Jewish settlements that much of the world deem illegal under international law.

For Palestinians, it might offer a route to statehood, but it is not on territory they accept.

Listen to this week's episode to hear from The National's Washington correspondent Joyce Karam, Omar Shaban, an analyst at the Gaza-based think tank PalThink for Strategic Studies and Hugh Lovatt, a Policy Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations and an expert on the Israel-Palestine conflict.

If you’ve not listened to last week’s Beyond the Headlines, we revisited Beirut, where three months of demonstrations have brought down a government, a financial crisis is in full swing and protests on the street have turned violent.

Ain Dubai in numbers

126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure

1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch

16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.

9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.

5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place

192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.

65
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Winners

Best Men's Player of the Year: Kylian Mbappe (PSG)

Maradona Award for Best Goal Scorer of the Year: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)

TikTok Fans’ Player of the Year: Robert Lewandowski

Top Goal Scorer of All Time: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)

Best Women's Player of the Year: Alexia Putellas (Barcelona)

Best Men's Club of the Year: Chelsea

Best Women's Club of the Year: Barcelona

Best Defender of the Year: Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus/Italy)

Best Goalkeeper of the Year: Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG/Italy)

Best Coach of the Year: Roberto Mancini (Italy)

Best National Team of the Year: Italy 

Best Agent of the Year: Federico Pastorello

Best Sporting Director of the Year: Txiki Begiristain (Manchester City)

Player Career Award: Ronaldinho

Tips to keep your car cool
  • Place a sun reflector in your windshield when not driving
  • Park in shaded or covered areas
  • Add tint to windows
  • Wrap your car to change the exterior colour
  • Pick light interiors - choose colours such as beige and cream for seats and dashboard furniture
  • Avoid leather interiors as these absorb more heat

TV: World Cup Qualifier 2018 matches will be aired on on OSN Sports HD Cricket channel

Leaderboard

63 - Mike Lorenzo-Vera (FRA)

64 - Rory McIlroy (NIR)

66 - Jon Rahm (ESP)

67 - Tom Lewis (ENG), Tommy Fleetwood (ENG)

68 - Rafael Cabrera-Bello (ESP), Marcus Kinhult (SWE)

69 - Justin Rose (ENG), Thomas Detry (BEL), Francesco Molinari (ITA), Danny Willett (ENG), Li Haotong (CHN), Matthias Schwab (AUT)

Desert Warrior

Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley

Director: Rupert Wyatt

Rating: 3/5

INDIA V SOUTH AFRICA

First Test: October 2-6, at Visakhapatnam

Second Test: October 10-14, at Maharashtra

Third Test: October 19-23, at Ranchi

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SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20NOTHING%20PHONE%20(2)
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World record transfers

1. Kylian Mbappe - to Real Madrid in 2017/18 - €180 million (Dh770.4m - if a deal goes through)
2. Paul Pogba - to Manchester United in 2016/17 - €105m
3. Gareth Bale - to Real Madrid in 2013/14 - €101m
4. Cristiano Ronaldo - to Real Madrid in 2009/10 - €94m
5. Gonzalo Higuain - to Juventus in 2016/17 - €90m
6. Neymar - to Barcelona in 2013/14 - €88.2m
7. Romelu Lukaku - to Manchester United in 2017/18 - €84.7m
8. Luis Suarez - to Barcelona in 2014/15 - €81.72m
9. Angel di Maria - to Manchester United in 2014/15 - €75m
10. James Rodriguez - to Real Madrid in 2014/15 - €75m

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