The Executive Committee of the Young Communist League has issued the following statement denouncing Trump’s so-called “Peace Plan” which seeks only to legitimise and fortify Israeli occupation and apartheid.
On 28th January, Donald Trump announced his administration’s Middle East Peace Plan, hyped by the media as the “deal of the century”. The plan proposes an extremely limited Palestinian state as a solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict. This plan was issued as an ultimatum without the participation of Palestinian organisations, and the concession of Palestinian statehood is critically compromised by various conditions.
Under the Trump-Netanyahu plan, the Palestinian territory of the West Bank is to be made up of scattered and fragmented patches of land, surrounded by Israeli settlements and connected only by special roads. This is nothing more than the formal reflection of the unjust situation which exists currently in the West Bank. A 34km ‘peace tunnel’ between Gaza and the West Bank is also envisaged, and while such a project is technically possible, it is likely to be fantastically expensive and no money has been allocated for it. The tunnel is not a serious proposal.
Border crossings would remain under Israeli control, along with the annexation of the Jordan Valley. The plan allows for a port in Gaza, and an airport in the West Bank, but only once Gaza has been ‘pacified’. Responsibility for Al-Aqsa Mosque would be transferred from Jordan to Saudi Arabia.
The plan proposes a defence agreement in which a future Palestinian state without its own armed forces would pay Israel for “protection”. The plan also rejects the right of return for Palestinian refugees, suggesting that they be offered compensation instead.
Finally, the proposed Israeli territory includes the section of the Golan Heights currently under illegal Israeli occupation. The Golan Heights are Syrian land. The proposed Israeli territory also fails to recognise the current de-facto Israeli-Lebanese border as the UN Blue Line. Instead it refers to this border as the 1949 Armistice Line. This is not an accidental oversight, it intentionally undermines the UN process and respect for a negotiated solution.
This farce of a ‘peace plan’ has already been rejected by the Palestinian people, with protests across the West Bank and Gaza, and in diaspora communities around the world. The small isolated pockets of land in the West Bank do not constitute a coherent territory. The plan would seek to normalise the illegal settlements inside the green line. Most Israeli settlers are given special economic incentives to live in the West Bank, they have little political attachment to the areas they live in.
The plan proposes a Palestinian state without control over international borders, no legal capacity for self-defence, and unable to operate a seaport or an airport without permission. These conditions are no basis for a viable state, they are designed to create a subordinate territory for the continuation of Israeli occupation.
The plan compounds the status of Palestinian workers as a super-exploited labour force in the service of Israeli and multinational corporations. This is particularly clear in the suggestions that a future Palestinian state should create a “business-friendly” environment. We understand this language.
The ruling cliques in the US and Israel are set on stirring up tensions in order to detract attention from their own political problems. They will use this deal as an excuse to threaten and attack the Palestinian people. In this moment we assert our commitment to a just peace and a real two-state solution, based on the following demands:
- A resolution for the 5.2 million Palestinian refugees, negotiated by the Palestine Liberation Organisation as the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. Any negotiation should begin from a recognition of the right to return of Palestinian refugees.
- A viable Palestinian state with its capital in East Jerusalem. If there are land swaps to be made, these should be negotiated by the PLO, starting from the UN-recognised 1967 borders.
- The unconditional release of all political prisoners from Israeli jails, including the brave Israeli citizens imprisoned for their refusal to join the army.
Finally, we respect the honour and virtue of young communists in Israel who fight for a secular, democratic, and non-racist society. The US is only interested in perpetuating the Israeli state as an outpost of US-NATO imperialism. The future for a democratic Israel can only be won through removal of foreign troops, demilitarisation, and the surrender of aggressive irredentist claims.
Down with all reactionary governments, from Washington to Tel Aviv!
Freedom for Palestine!
International Committee
Young Communist League of Britain
1 February 2020
London, Britain
