WhatsappIt is no secret that the Trump administration, in the hope of luring Saudi Arabia into a normalization agreement with Israel, put clause 19 in the now vaunted 21-point “peace plan.” Clause 19 states: “Once the Palestinian Authority’s reform plan is implemented, conditions may be achieved for a path toward self-determination and the establishment of a Palestinian state. The United States will facilitate dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians to agree on a political horizon for coexistence in peace and prosperity.”
While most people have assumed this clause is a big nothing burger, it has been reported that Washington intends to include it in the draft to be voted on by the UN Security Council, meaning it will be binding.
In response to the report, Defense Minister Katz said the following: “The policy of Israel is clear: no Palestinian state will be established,” Katz wrote. “The IDF will remain on Mount Hermon and in the security zone. Gaza will be demilitarized down to the last tunnel, and Hamas will be disarmed-on the Israeli-controlled side by the IDF, and in old Gaza either by an international force or by the IDF.”
Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir responded, “There is no such thing as ‘a Palestinian people’. This is an invention that has no historical, archaeological or factual basis. A collection of immigrants from Arab countries to the Land of Israel are not a people. And certainly they do not deserve a reward for the terror, murder, and atrocities they sowed everywhere, and especially from Gaza – the place where they received self-rule,” he clarified.
“The only real solution in Gaza is encouragement of voluntary migration, and certainly not a state that rewards terror, which would be a base for continued terror. Otzma Yehudit will not be part of any government that agrees to that. I call on the Prime Minister to clarify that the State of Israel will not allow the establishment of a Palestinian state in any form,” he added.
Others in the Likud and the right have also publicly pushed against the US plan. By the end of today, Prime Minister Netanyahu had no choice but to clarify his government’s position and answered with this: “Our opposition to a Palestinian state on any part of this territory has not changed in the slightest.”
With the UNSC vote expected soon, the real question is: will the Trump administration back off from clause 19, or will it push it forward? If it does, can Bibi’s coalition survive? Netanyahu believes that the so-called “palestinians” will never live up to their end of the deal. Yet, that is a mistake. Trump’s team doesn’t care about the “palestinians.” What they care about is regional deals, and for that, truth takes a back seat.
