‘It would be a disgrace if Palestinians miss this opportunity’

After Bahrain – The Peace Process and the Middle East Quo Vadis?

Jason Greenblatt says US cannot force sides to agree to make peace, but PA cannot miss yet another opportunity.

US Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt on Monday addressed the Bahrain Economic Conference and the US peace plan, saying that any move would ensure Israel’s security.

“I do not want to say that our program is better than others,” Greenblatt said at the Herzliya conference. “We are realistic but also optimistic. Good and dedicated people have already tried, but now there is a unique president in a unique era and open contacts between Israel and the countries of the region, all of whom have a common interest in defending against Iran.”

He explained: “We are in 2019 and instead of the dim points of the past we understood that we cannot rely solely on another Arab initiative, so we have prepared a detailed political plan of more than 60 pages. This is not a peace agreement. Our goal is for every Israeli and Palestinian citizen to be able to sit with his children and grandchildren and go through this plan and ask whether compromises there are worth it.”

Greenblatt added, “We did not want to touch on political issues at the Bahrain conference, but we have repeatedly warned that Israel’s security is paramount to us in any kind of union between the West Bank and Gaza. The two areas – the West Bank and Gaza – if we succeed in bringing Netanyahu and Abbas together, but there is no way to integrate Gaza with this, then we will not move anywhere.”

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