ISRAEL HAYOM (by agreement with JNS)
The Palestinians’ bluff has been called
by Melanie Phillips
January 31, 2020

US President Donald Trump’s Middle East “deal of the century” offers the Palestinians a state. They have rejected it and threatened instead to ramp up violence against Israel. No one can be surprised. They have rejected every offer of a state previously made to them in 1937, 1947, 2000, 2008 and 2014. So is this latest deal anything more than Groundhog Day for the Middle East all over again? Yes, because this isn’t a deal. It’s an ultimatum. Israel intends to enact its part in the plan unilaterally by declaring sovereignty over the Israeli settlement blocs and the Jordan Valley. READ MORE

PUNDICITY Ilan Berman: Trump’s Plan Forces Palestinian Choices At Tuesday’s [White House] press conference, the ambassadors of Bahrain, Oman and the United Arab Emirates were prominently on display – a sure sign of their governments’ backing of the U.S. proposal. Since then, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Morocco have all publicly signaled their support of the American plan as well. In the process, they’ve made clear that the Palestinians won’t automatically be able to rely on Arab support if they decline to engage constructively.