Trump calls Netanyahu to admit deal of century as package
US President Donald Trump has called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to cherry pick the deal of century and admit the proposal as one package.
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Citing senior sources, Israel's TV Channel 13 said the US had informed Netanyahu that he could not cherry-pick certain terms of the "deal of the century" for annexing major parts of the occupied West Bank.
According to the Israeli channel, there are “deep” and “basic” differences between Washington and Tel Aviv regarding the annexation of the Jordan Valley, the North of the Dead Sea and other settlements.
The sources also revealed that the US administration had asked Netanyahu to announce his agreement on the principle of the “two states for two nations". Otherwise, Washington would not okay his annexation plan, they said.
US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman also informed Netanyahu that Trump wanted Israel to implement his plan, and not anything else.
Defying international outcry, Trump on January 28 announced the general provisions of his long-delayed plan at the White House with Netanyahu by his side.
The US president said his proposed deal would ensure the establishment of a “two-state” solution, but Jerusalem al-Quds would be the "undivided capital" of Israel.
Palestinian leaders, who severed all ties with Washington in late 2017 after Trump controversially recognized Jerusalem al-Quds as the "capital" of Israel, immediately rejected the plan, with President Mahmoud Abbas saying it “belongs to the dustbin of history.”
Trump’s Middle East scheme largely meets Israel’s demands in the decades-old conflict while creating a Palestinian state with limited control over its own security and borders.
It also enshrines Jerusalem al-Quds as “Israel’s undivided capital” and allows the regime to annex settlements in the occupied West Bank and the Jordan Valley.
The proposal further denies the right of return to their homeland to of Palestinian refugees, among other controversial terms.
Palestinians argue that one primary flaw of Trump’s deal is that despite presumably offering a recipe for peace with Israel, it totally excludes and sidelines them.
They view the deal as Washington’s seal of approval for Israel’s long-desired annexation of their territories it has been illegally occupying for decades, in total disregard for UN Security Council resolutions and the opposition by the vast majority of the international community.
In September 2019, Netanyahu pledged to annex “all” settlements in the occupied West Bank if he emerged victorious in general elections.
Last month, Netanyahu and his main rival, Benny Gantz, agreed to start plans for annexing the occupied West Bank on July 1 as part of a deal to set up a coalition cabinet.
On Thursday, the ambassadors of 11 European countries warned the Israeli regime that its planned annexation of the occupied West Bank was a “clear violation of international law” that would have “grave consequences” for the regime.
Envoys from the UK, Germany, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Belgium, Denmark, and Finland as well as the European Union presented their formal objection to the plan.
The envoys voiced their grave concern over "the clause in the coalition agreement that paves the way for annexing parts of the West Bank".
"The annexation of any part of the West Bank constitutes a clear violation of international law," they said.
