Greenblatt: Peace plan asks Israel to pledge land for Palestinian state
“Can the Israeli government declare the extension of sovereignty? The answer is yes,” Greenblatt said.
By TOVAH LAZAROFF, LAHAV HARKOVU.S. Envoy for Middle East negotiations Jason Greenblatt on a visit in Israel(photo credit: AMIR COHEN/REUTERS)
The Trump administration’s peace plan asked Israel to commit to setting aside territory for a future Palestinian state in exchange for its approval to annex settlements, former US envoy Jason Greenblatt told Army Radio.“Can the Israeli government declare the extension of sovereignty? The answer is yes,” Greenblatt said Thursday. “But under the peace plan that we released, that comes with a commitment to set aside a certain area of land for the eventual potential Palestinian state.”Greenblatt’s comments referenced a section of the US President Donald Trump’s “Deal of the Century” that spoke of dividing Area C between Israel and the Palestinians.That area, which makes up 60% of the West Bank, is under Israeli military and civilian law. Under Trump’s plan, Israel can annex half of Area C in the early stages of the plan. The Palestinians can receive the remainder upon completion of a four-year process to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.But there have been local media reports that Israel has been asked to place half of Area C under the auspices of the Palestinian Authority in tandem with its annexation of the settlements in the other part of Area C.Greenblatt, who left his post in October, told Army Radio that he could only address details of the plan that related to its unveiling in January.Many on the Right have applauded the sovereignty section of Trump’s plan, but have rejected its recognition of Palestinian statehood.Greenblatt said he himself did not like to refer to the tried and true phrase of a “two-state solution,” which means different things to different people.The “phrase we used in the peace efforts is a realistic Palestinian state that complies with 60-80 pages of important criteria,” he said.This includes the PA stopping terrorist attacks against Israelis and halting the monthly stipends to terrorists who have killed Israelis.The criteria for Palestinian statehood is part of what “differentiates the peace plan we released from the past efforts,” Greenblatt said. “There’s a lot of criteria for them to establish a state, as there should be.”The former envoy said he believed the application of sovereignty should be done in conjunction with the US.“I’m sure that once the Israeli government decides what it wants to do, it will do it in coordination with the White House, which I think is the right approach,” Greenblatt said.He explained he did not believe Trump had lost interest in the peace plan. The question itself, he said, was “theoretical... because the Palestinian leadership discarded and rejected the plan before it came out, so there is no actual real movement that could happen on the peace effort, but the release of the plan was an important first step,” Greenblatt said.“Even if [there is] no traction in the next several months or longer, I think the plan itself has tremendous value,” Greenblatt added.
