{"id":30765,"date":"2017-02-16T23:31:54","date_gmt":"2017-02-16T23:31:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/en.bornomalanews.com\/?p=30765"},"modified":"2017-02-16T23:31:54","modified_gmt":"2017-02-16T23:31:54","slug":"israeli-joy-palestinian-alarm-at-trump-two-state-shift","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.bornomalanews.com\/?p=30765","title":{"rendered":"Israeli joy, Palestinian alarm at Trump two-state shift"},"content":{"rendered":"
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This file photo shows a Palestinian protester throwing back a tear-gas canister towards Israeli forces during clashes following a weekly demonstration against the expropriation of Palestinian land by Israel in the village of Kfar Qaddum, near Nablus, in the occupied West Bank on Feb 10. AFP photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

AFP, JERUSALEM: US President Donald Trump\u2019s shelving of the decades-long goal of a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict has excited Israelis and alarmed Palestinians, though no one is quite sure what it means.<\/p>\n

The announcement was hailed by ministers in Israel\u2019s rightwing government, a number of whom have called for the annexation of Palestinian territory in the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Palestinian flag has come down from the mast and the Israeli flag has taken its place,\u201d far-right Education Minister Naftali Bennett said.<\/p>\n

Science Minister Ofir Akunis hailed \u201cthe end of a dangerous and erroneous idea: the creation of a Palestinian terrorist state in the heart of the land of Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rightwing politicians consider the West Bank, occupied since 1967 in contravention of international law, to be part of historic Israel for religious reasons.<\/p>\n

In the first meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu since his inauguration, Trump on Wednesday broke with international consensus and decades of US policy insisting on a future that included an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m looking at two-state and one-state, and I like the one that both parties like. I\u2019m very happy with the one that both parties like,\u201d he said. \u201cI can live with either one.\u201d<\/p>\n

The two-state solution has been the cornerstone of US and international policy for decades, but Netanyahu has long wavered on his support for it.<\/p>\n

It is the first time Netanayahu\u2019s premiership has coincided with a Republican president and Israeli media hailed Trump\u2019s policy shift as a major success.<\/p>\n

Michael Oren, deputy minister in Netanyahu\u2019s office, said they could not have hoped for a better statement.<\/p>\n

Palestinians, however, were less impressed.<\/p>\n

President Mahmud Abbas said his government was \u201cready to deal positively\u201d with the White House, highlighting Trump\u2019s appeal to Netanyahu on Wednesday to \u201chold back\u201d on settlements\u2014seen as illegal by the international community\u2014for a \u201clittle while.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hossam Zomlot, Abbas\u2019 special advisor, told AFP that while a two-state solution was still preferred, his administration was willing to discuss all options, providing Palestinian rights were protected.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we retain is that Trump says he wants peace,\u201d Zomlot said, adding Israel sought an \u201capartheid state.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump has yet to speak to Abbas and officials have quietly expressed alarm.<\/p>\n

Jihad Harb, a Palestinian political scientist, said the leadership was being cautious due to its \u201cweak position\u201d and its past failure to follow through on threats.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Palestinian leadership has failed to open a dialogue with the US administration. It is afraid that an escalation (in rhetoric) at this stage could ruin any possibility of dialogue,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Ghassan Khatib, a professor and former Palestinian official, said Trump was \u201cvery bad for the Palestinians.\u201d<\/p>\n

The leadership, Harb added, has limited options if Trump continues to freeze them out.<\/p>\n

It could return to the United Nations or International Criminal Court for another attempt to exert pressure, or instead push for \u201ca movement of popular resistance against the occupation,\u201d according to Harb.<\/p>\n

What a one-state solution would look like in reality remains unclear. Oren implied there was support for what has been dubbed by Israeli media as the \u201cstate minus\u201d approach, meaning levels of autonomy for Palestinian areas in the West Bank but never full independence.<\/p>\n

\u201c(It) may not conform to what we know as a two-state solution but would enable the Palestinians to lead their lives in prosperity and security,\u201d Oren said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

AFP, JERUSALEM: US President Donald Trump\u2019s shelving of the decades-long goal of a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict has excited Israelis and alarmed Palestinians, though no one is quite sure what it means. The announcement was hailed by ministers in Israel\u2019s rightwing government, a number of whom have called for the annexation of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":30766,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[14],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\t\n