Mr. Hadi Amr “The American administration expected that the Palestinians would reject the deal of the century”
Pal-Think carried out a dialogue session titled “Deal of the Century: Causes and Repercussions” within the project “Understanding and Mapping the Political Interaction between Palestine and Main Regional /International Political Powers” in cooperation with th Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, in the presence of a group of academics, researchers and writers. This session was as part of the efforts of Pal-Think in promoting dialogue and discussion on international and regional issues related to the Palestinian cause.
The session hosted, by Skype, Mr. Hadi Amr who is a Nonresident Senior Fellow at Brookings. and Former US Deputy Special Envoy for Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations.
The session was opened by Director of Pal-Think Mr. Omar Shaban who welcomed the attendees, and said: “This session comes within the work of Pal-Think in partnership with the German Friedrich Foundation to highlight the current developments in the world and the region related to the Palestinian issue and to improve the areas of dialogue in Palestine in general and the Gaza Strip in particular.”
For his part, the programs manager of Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung in the Gaza Strip, Dr. Usama Antar said “We are very proud of the partnership with Pal Think to implement unique programs. Today we will talk about the successive events and developments related to the deal of the century, because in my view, there was neither a political point of view, nor a serious decision made on the deal. In addition, the deal is not about acceptance or rejection, but rather it is about how we as Palestinians can deal with the ongoing political transformations. “
“Trump’s plan has strong opposition from the Democratic and Republican parties in the United States, and from many American think tanks, as well as by prominent political figures such as: former peace envoy Martin Endk who believes that this plan is not applicable.” In Mr. Hadi Amr, a researcher at the Brookings Institution, said.
He added: “Trump’s plan was formulated by the Israelis and the Americans with full coordination between them, and it has several goals: The first is to enable Netanyahu to win the current Israeli elections, and the second goal is to win the loyalty of the extreme and religious right in America to help Trump win the upcoming presidential elections and the third goal is related to settlers in the West Bank because of their great influence in making Israeli policy”.
He continued: “The shape of the next American administration will determine how to implement the deal of the century because if Trump wins the elections, the deal of the century will be applied for the next five years, so any upcoming administration of Democrats will certainly be better than the current Trump administration. Trump is the most Republican president hated by Democrats in American history and what made them hate him more was his strong friendship with Netanyahu. All that Trump admires does not favor the Democrats.
He added, “The American administration knew that the Palestinians would reject this plan, but they were hoping that the negotiation process between the Palestinians and the Israelis would begin. Also, the Palestinian leadership knew that the Trump administration would publish this plan, why wasn’t there an alternative Palestinian plan for the Trump plan? It is true that President Abu Mazen delivered a wonderful speech a year ago at the United Nations, but this was not enough. The Palestinians were supposed to publish a written plan that included precise details of the Palestinian’s vision.
Subsequently, Mr. Hadi listened to various answers from the audience in response to a question he asked, “Why isn’t there a unified vision for all Palestinians?”
The attendees ’questions revolved around the possibility of President Trump winning a second presidential term, the impact of this on the implementation of the deal of the century, the shape of the next US administration’s policy towards Palestine, the role of the Arab community in America in facing the deal of the century and the two-state solution matter if the Democrats won the elections, the similarities of the Republicans and Democrats ’view of the final solution to the Palestinian issue during the past decades and their differences in the past few years.
This session is a continuation of the Pal-Think sustainable role since 2007, as a non-governmental organization seeking to deepen dialogue and discussion in Palestine, through frequently holding dialogue sessions with international experts and policy makers.
