President Trump’s infamous plan for “peace” in the Middle East has been announced on 28 January 2020. Many countries expressed their position.

  • Amnesty International: Dismal ‘peace deal’ would exacerbate violations, enshrine impunity
    The Trump administration’s dismal package of proposals to violate international law and further strip Palestinians of their rights is a handbook for more suffering and abuses in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Amnesty International said. The organization urged the international community to reject measures contravening international law that are set out in US President Donald Trump’s so-called “deal of the century”. These include a formal extension of Israel’s sovereignty over the Jordan Valley and the vast majority of the illegal settlements in the rest of the occupied West Bank in exchange for land currently inside Israel. (WAFA)
  • Arab League: rejects Trump’s ‘deal of the century’
    The Arab League has shot down US President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace plan, saying it would not lead to a just peace between Israel and Palestine. The deal has already been rejected by the Palestinian side. League members met in Cairo on Saturday to discuss the deal, touted by Trump as the “deal of the century,” and a realistic roadmap to peace between Israel and Palestine. Speaking at the meeting, Palestinian President Mahmood Abbas announced he would cut all ties with the US and Israel over the plan, and would not go down in history as the person who “sold out Jerusalem.” (RT.com)
  • EU:
    The European Union will study and assess the proposals put forward. This will be done on the basis of the EU’s established position and its firm and united commitment to a negotiated and viable two-state solution that takes into account the legitimate aspirations of both the Palestinians and the Israelis, respecting all relevant UN resolutions and internationally agreed parameters. The EU reaffirms its readiness to work towards the resumption of meaningful negotiations to resolve all permanent status issues and to achieve a just and lasting peace. (Council of the EU)
  • Organization of Islamic Cooperation (IOC): rejects ‘deal of century’, calls for not interacting with it
    OIC unanimously called in an extraordinary meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, at the level of foreign ministers to reject the US plan for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict called “deal of the century” and called on member states not to interact with it or cooperate with the US administration in implementing it any shape or form. It called in its final communique in the meeting held to discuss the American plan on the US administration to adhere to the agreed international and legal references to achieve a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in the Middle East. (WAFA)
  • UN: its position on Middle East conflict is defined by the two-state solution
    In reaction to the American plan for a Middle East settlement announced in Washington, the spokesman for the United Nations Secretary-General said that “the position of the United Nations on the two-State solution has been defined, throughout the years, by relevant Security Council and General Assembly resolutions by which the Secretariat is bound.” He stressed in a statement that “the United Nations remains committed to supporting Palestinians and Israelis to resolve the conflict on the basis of United Nations resolutions, international law and bilateral agreements and realizing the vision of two States – Israel and Palestine – living side by side in peace and security within recognized borders, on the basis of the pre-1967 lines.” (WAFA)
  • France: two-state solution is necessary to establish just and sustainable peace
    France said that a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is necessary to establish just and sustainable peace in the Middle East. “France is convinced that the two-state solution, in accordance with international law and internationally agreed parameters, is necessary to establish just and sustainable peace in the Middle East,” said a French foreign ministry statement in reaction to the revelation yesterday of the American so-called deal of the century, or “peace” plan. (WAFA)
  • Germany: only a negotiated two-state solution can lead to a lasting peace in Middle East
    Only a negotiated two-state solution that is acceptable to both parties can lead to a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians, German Foreign Minister Haiko Maas .“It is on this basis that any idea aiming to inject new momentum into the Middle East Peace Process, which has been stalled for too long, is to be welcomed,” he said in reaction to the American so-called peace plan proposed by US President Donald Trump.“The US proposal raises questions that we will now discuss with our partners in the European Union. This includes questions concerning the involvement of the conflict parties in any negotiation process and how the proposal relates to internationally agreed parameters and legal positions.” added Maas. (WAFA)
  • Ireland: “A successful resolution of the conflict can only be reached if both parties are included on an equal basis and can work together for an agreed outcome. No solution can be imposed and no unilateral moves should take place”
    Statement by Tanaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Simon Coveney, T.D. on the US Middle East Peace Initiative: “I am deeply concerned by the comments made by PM Netanyahu today regarding extending Israeli sovereignty over the Jordan Valley and over settlements across the West Bank. Let me be clear – annexation of territory by force is prohibited under international law, including by the UN Charter. Such an action would be a decisive step away from the Oslo Accords, which both parties signed, and which Ireland has worked tirelessly to support for over 25 years. It would also be a decisive step away from the commitment to an agreed solution between the parties; a solution which could be backed and supported by the international community as a whole. We will study the plan in more detail but our initial response is one of grave concern that it fails to achieve the balance and equality of esteem necessary to gain the support of both sides to the conflict and the international community. I intend to remain in close contact with the parties, the countries of the region, with our EU partners and with the US.”
  • Lebanon: “We are with you and support any position that you might take to defend your rights,”
    In a phone conversation with the President of the State of Palestine H.E. Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the Lebanese Republic, H.E. Michel Aoun voiced his country’s full support to the Palestinian legitimate rights in the face of impending threats, particularly the Palestinian refugees’ right to return to their homeland from which their families were expelled during the founding of Israel in 1948. “We are with you and support any position that you might take to defend your rights,” President Aoun told President Abbas. (WAFA)
  • Norway: “The only way to achieve lasting peace between Israel and Palestine is through a negotiated two-state solution”
    Statement by Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Any initiative to re-activate the peace process must reflect internationally agreed parameters as defined in the Oslo accords and UN Security Council resolutions. The outstanding final status issues, including borders, security, the status of Jerusalem, and the refugee question, must be resolved through direct negotiations between both parties. This framework will continue to be the basis for Norway’s chairmanship of the donor group for Palestine (AHLC), said the Foreign Minister. In order to be sustainable, a two-state solution must be in accordance with international law. I warn against taking unilateral steps. Any annexation of territory by force is unacceptable and in contravention of international law, said Foreign Minister Eriksen Søreide. (WAFA)
  • Russia: Washington is not the one to make the settlement decision
    The Russian Foreign Ministry said that the United States proposals for a settlement in the Middle East are one of the initiatives, and it is not Washington who makes the settlement decision. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov stressed that Russia will study the “deal of the century”, but what is more important is the position of the Palestinians from it. (WAFA)
  • Saudi-Arabia: Saudi position on Palestinian issue will not change
    King Salman called President Mahmoud Abbas to stress to him that the position of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from the Palestinian issue will not change to safeguard the rights of the Palestinian people.“Your cause is our cause and the cause of the Arab and Muslim people. We are with you,” King Salman told President Abbas. He called for achieving a comprehensive and just peace on the ground that peace is a strategic choice in order to achieve a final settlement that meets the national aspirations of the Palestinian people. (WAFA)
  • US Democrats:‘This is not a peace plan, it is theft’
    As Donald Trump hailed his so-called “deal of the century” as a historic opportunity to achieve peace between Palestinians and Israel, Democratic members of Congress poured scorn on the plan that has been rejected by Palestinians. The proposal, which was drafted without the input of any Palestinian groups, allows Israel to keep all of its settlements in the West Bank and annex large parts of the Palestinian territories that it currently occupies. While Trump has floated his proposal as a “realistic two-state solution”, the plan itself says a Palestinian state – if it materialises – will be demilitarised and without sovereignty over its air space and territorial waters.
    In a wave of criticism, many members of Congress denounced the plan as a unilateral attempt to end the chances of real Palestinian statehood.
    Senator Bernie Sanders, who is running for president, said Washington must ensure a just agreement between Israelis and Palestinians.
    “Any acceptable peace deal must be consistent with international law and multiple UN resolutions,” Sanders said.