Will US President Donald Trump’s adviser, Jared Kushner, succeed in putting forward the peace plan this year, or will a new Israeli election - held after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s failure to form his government – postpone it for a relatively long term?
This question has been widely debated in Washington over the past two days, after Israel appeared to be on the verge of a political crisis, as the interventions that Trump’s administration reportedly carried out to support Netanyahu did not succeed.
According to political circles, the search now exceeds the conditions that Washington was preparing to secure in order to guarantee the success of its plan for peace in the Middle East, especially at the political level.
These sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Palestinians succeeded in garnering supportive Arab stances, especially from the Gulf States, including Bahrain, which will host a conference on June 25, during which the US will explain the economic part of its plan.
The same sources noted that the US administration was trying not to present the peace plan before the completion of the recent Israeli elections, due to the sensitivity of this project and its possible political impact on the election campaigns.
This means that the peace plan will be postponed at least until next fall, according to the sources, which also said that the equation today differed, as the Arab States required progress in the file of the conflict with Iran before talking about any peace project.
They added that the Arabs sent a warning to the United States that any peace plan should guarantee the rights of the Palestinian people.
According to the sources, the current and urgent issue in the region is Iran, its political and military behavior and its nuclear and regional ambitions, while the 70-year-old Palestinian cause can wait for a few years before a settlement is reached, especially since all parties have clearly stated that a two-state solution and East Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state are irrevocable demands.
The sources went on to say that the preparations for the Bahrain conference, in which the United States will present the economic aspect of its plan, will continue to ensure a partial achievement of the peace plan.
The economic benefits promised by the peace deal, according to Washington, are not limited to Palestinians and include other countries such as Jordan, Egypt, and Lebanon.
Achievements made at the Bahrain conference can be built on politically at a later stage, according to the sources.
