Former U.S. diplomat thinks Trump's Middle East peace plan will 'deepen' Israel-Palestine conflict

Donald Trump.
(Image credit: Screenshot/Twitter/BBCNews)

President Trump unveiled his administration's Middle East peace plan alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, just hours after Netanyahu was indicted on corruption charges.

The two leaders touted the two-state plan as a "win-win" for Israel and Palestine. Trump promised $50 billion in international aid to build up the Palestinian state, which would house its capital in East Jerusalem, leaving Israel in control of a unified Jerusalem. The White House included a perplexing-looking map of the proposed solution, complete with a tunnel connecting Gaza and the West Bank.

See more

Many of the early reactions to the proposal were critical — analysts like Nicholas Burns, a Harvard professor and former U.S. diplomat, anticipate a rejection from the Palestinians and even an escalation of tensions between the two sides since it does little to curb Israeli settlements in the West Bank in the long run.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
See more

Neighboring Jordan warned against the "annexation of Palestinian lands" in response to the plan, as well. But it does have at least one potential fan. U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson reportedly said that after speaking with Trump earlier in the day, he thinks it could help pave the way forward.

Continue reading for free

We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.

Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.

Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.