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Middle East Peace Plan Promised by President Trump Stalled, Officials Focus on Improving Conditions in Impoverished Gaza Strip – A Measure That Could exert political pressure on Palestinian leaders. was thwarted by the Palestinian Authority, which would negotiate any settlement but remains outraged by Trump's decision last year to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. A group of US officials led by Jared Kushner came back from what appeared to be a crucial trip to the region last month without getting out of the stalemate
which led the US authorities to consider options for the future. development aid in Gaza. a perennial spot that is controlled by Hamas, the rival of the Palestinian Authority, in hopes of alleviating the humanitarian crisis.
In doing so, the United States could demonstrate a commitment to the Palestinian people that could complicate the task of the President of the Palestinian Authority. Mahmoud Abbas continues to reject the openings to engage in the peace process.
"We must absolutely focus on Gaza because the situation is such that it is and we want to try to help," said a Trump administration official. . "But it's not like we think we have to fix Gaza before we release the peace plan."
Projects to improve short-term power and water services, probably funded by the Persian Gulf States Nikolay Mladenov, UN ambbadador to the Middle East, said that he has been working in the Middle East. they approved the "Gaza first" approach to pressure Hamas and wait for rival Palestinian leaders in the West Bank. Israel, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority maintain an embargo on the Hamas-led Gaza Strip.
"This is a first phase of support for the people of Gaza," said a senior Israeli official. "They know Palestinians do not want to consider [the larger proposal] so they are starting to pay more attention to the humanitarian situation in Gaza."
US, Israeli and Arab officials have asked for anonymity to discuss the US diplomatic initiative. Kushner, son-in-law and advisor to the president, remains under surveillance
[U.S. appears close to releasing Mideast peace plan despite Palestinian opposition]
The unemployment rate in Gaza is above 40% and residents only have about four hours of electricity a day. The United Nations says the conditions are terrible and worsen and predicts that without intervention, the coastal territory bordering Israel and Egypt will be "unbearable" by 2020.
The protests on the border between Gaza and Israel in April and May The Trump administration has backed Israel against international criticism that its soldiers used disproportionate force in firing on civilians who were rushing against border barriers during protests.
The United States accuses Hamas, which he calls a terrorist organization, of murder. use Gazans as pawns in a power struggle with the Palestinian Authority Abbas. Abbas' allies accuse the United States of using the Gaza crisis as a means of pressure to force it to negotiate what it regards as a weakened position.
Abbas said last month that he was rejecting an economic plan organized by the United States. the administration to divide the Palestinians and reduce a political conflict with Israel to a purely humanitarian emergency. A statement by his spokesman warned countries in the region not to support a project that would further separate Gaza from the West Bank and demand concessions on the status of Jerusalem.
A Gaza-centered approach may have short-term political benefits. if a truce on the hostile border replaced the images of deadly clashes.
"We want to support them," said the senior Israeli official of the US team, adding that it remains to be seen whether Hamas would accept the truce and a prisoner
others diplomats who worked on failed peace efforts were wondering how the administration would make an effort to improve life in Gaza with its decision last year to cut US funding for the UN agency . which provides the school and other services on the territory of 2 million.
The Trump administration halved about the amount of badistance that it was to provide to the agency on Jan. 31. 1 to protest the Palestinian reaction to Trump's announcement in Jerusalem and other US policies
[Abbas, Haley exchange strong words over Jerusalem at U.N.]
While the administration focuses on Gaza, veterans of the Middle East peace process are generally skeptical as to Trump's chances of concluding a peace agreement. Trump made the difficult task virtually impossible by recognizing Jerusalem as the Israeli capital in December and breaking trust with the Palestinians, said Philip Gordon, a former career diplomat who was an adviser on the Middle East. to President Barack Obama.
"There will never be a good time to present a plan that has no chance of succeeding, and that is how I would describe it under the current direction of both sides," said Gordon. Israelis and Palestinians.
Kushner's visit of US officials to Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Israel last month seemed to delay rather than hasten
Arab states, including close allies of the United States United, denounced the Jerusalem decision, saying it seemed to prejudge the explosive issue of sovereignty over a holy city for Jews, Christians and Muslims. The American movement, which Trump had promised as a candidate, also left less room for Arab leaders to help Trump with his campaign promise for a peace deal.
Three Arab diplomats questioned after Kushner's June trip declared that their countries were not moving on long-standing Palestinian demands for a state within the boundaries of Palestinian Arab lands as they existed in their country. 1967 and a capital of this state in East Jerusalem. Palestinians also seek redress for the Arabs who left their homes in what is now Israel when the state of Israel was established.
"All Arab leaders remain very supportive of the Palestinian cause and their desires and needs, and we see if we can reach a peace agreement," said senior Trump administration official. The US official rejected suggestions that attention to Gaza is a prelude to a US plan to create a Palestinian state in Gaza.Arabal Palestinian authority out of the deal.
"C & # "It's ridiculous," said the manager. "We're not trying to do that. We believe that the solution in a peace agreement would be to unite Gaza and the West Bank under a Palestinian leadership. "
In an unusual interview last month with the Palestinian Arabic-language al-Quds newspaper, Kushner expressed his optimism that calm could transform Gaza.
" I think the only way for the people of Gaza is to encourage leaders to aim for a real ceasefire that gives Israel and Egypt confidence to allow more trade and goods, "said Kushner." Many countries would be willing to investing in Gaza if there was a real prospect of a different path. "
The interview was part of US efforts to communicate directly with Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza in the US. hope to put political pressure on them.Kushner's team can not deal directly with the Hamas government in Gaza but rely on international partners as major backers and intermediaries for development projects to provide energy, water and health facilities. All of these infrastructures and subscriptions risk enriching and encouraging Hamas.
Previous peace efforts under the Republican and Democratic Presidents have sought a sovereign Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, which lie on both sides of Israel. The West Bank remains occupied territory – Israel has withdrawn from Gaza in 2005.
[As Hamas faces crisis in Gaza, it tries to turn up pressure on Israel]
The border crisis that has worsened during the summer has slowed down, but Gazans still launch deer. flying that the Israelis call "terrorist kites". . Arab governments are worried that the crisis could easily ignite and lead to the fourth major military confrontation between Israel and Hamas forces in Gaza since Hamas took control of the band there. is more than ten years old.
Kushner This proposal will be available soon and will serve as a basis for the negotiations. He directly appealed to Palestinians to consider the benefits of a settlement with Israel despite the views of their leaders that the United States can not be an honest broker in the peace process
. "We're here for, what, another two and a half years, or six and a half years, so on our side we have the luxury of time and can be patient, the plan will not change."
Loveday Morris in Jerusalem contributed to this report.
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