Half of Israelis believe US President Donald Trump’s decision to unveil his “peace plan” last week was designed to tip the scales in favour of sitting PM Benjamin Netanyahu in the upcoming election, a new poll reveals.
Donald Trump unveiled his long-awaited peace proposal on January 28, to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The plan calls for a two-state solution that diverges from that of the UN. It gives Israel more powers and influence over the Palestinian state (if established) striping the latter of much of its legitimate rights. Furthermore, Jerusalem, which is revered by almost all of the Abrahamic religions due to its relevance, is to be the undivided capital of Israel according to the plan. The so-called ‘Deal of the Century’ is in complete disregard to international law and the UN resolutions which call for a more fair solution and more freedom for the Palestinian state in the two-state setup.
Nearly half of Israeli Jews (46 percent) and (68 percent) of Israeli Arabs deemed the American decision to unleash the “deal of the century” to be an attempt to meddle in the March 2 elections on Netanyahu’s behalf, according to a poll conducted in the two days before the big reveal by the Israeli Democracy Institute.
The sectors who most thought @realDonaldTrump was interfering with #Israel elections were left-wing Jews (78%), centrist Jews (69%) and Arabs (68%).
Analysis by @Gil_Hoffman https://t.co/5u5Fd1vvzY— The Jerusalem Post (@Jerusalem_Post) February 3, 2020
The percentage that resented the intrusion increased as one moved further left, with fully 78 percent of respondents on the left considered the timing to constitute foreign meddling; 69 percent of centrists also thought so. Among those self-identifying as right-wing, just 33.5 percent believed Trump unveiling his plan for the solution to the half-century-old Israel-Palestine conflict constituted election interference.
Pro-Netanyahu media are so eager to begin implementing the peace plan, which gives Israel carte blanche to officially annex illegally occupied West Bank settlements, that they have apparently turned on Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner after he advised the PM to wait until after the election to begin annexation.
Read more: Israel-Palestine: Deal of the century or the devil’s deal?
Zeroing in on Kushner as the primary obstacle to pre-election annexation of the Jordan Valley and some settlements, right-wing Israeli outlets have threatened to turn Trump’s evangelical base against him to scupper his own re-election chances, according to Israeli Channel 13.
Support for the plan is more lukewarm outside of the PM’s Likud Party base. Just 45 percent of respondents to the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI) poll supported the recognition of a demilitarized Palestinian state, honeycombed with Israeli settlements as outlined in the plan. Support was highest among voters on the left.
Former Palestinian chief negotiator Saab Erekat gave voice to the unanimous rejection of the plan by the Palestinians when he accused the Americans of “copying and pasting” the plans of “Netanyahu and the settlers’ councils.” The 22 Arab League states have also unanimously rejected the “deal of the century.”
https://twitter.com/msuiche/status/1222233166632693770
Netanyahu was officially indicted on corruption and bribery charges last week, on the same day the Trump peace plan was unveiled.
Read more: US “Deal of the Century” a cloaked attempt to liquidate Palestine?
The two events were apparently unrelated – Netanyahu officially dropped his request for parliamentary immunity earlier that same day, allowing attorney general Avichai Mendelblit to bring the long-awaited indictments after a three-year investigation. Trump’s support has not wavered, though 32 percent of respondents to the IDI poll believe the Netanyahu probe will be the deciding factor in the first Israeli election ever to go to a third ballot after two deadlocked results.
RT with additional input by GVS newsdesk.