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What comes next after demise of ‘deal of the century?’

Aug 03,2019 - Last updated at Aug 03,2019

There is a unanimity in the Arab world, especially among the Palestinians, to reject the so-called “deal of the century” that Senior Adviser to US President Jared Kushner has been trying to market as the ultimate solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Yet Kushner, and behind him President Donald Trump, continue their open campaign to "sell" this deal to the Arab side.

Neither the projectionists of the "deal", nor its supporters know yet the basic features of this plan, and they appear to rely on rumours about it. Yet, judgement on it has already been passed, albeit arbitrarily by all sides. But now that this "deal" is already ruled as anathema to everything dear to the Palestinians, the question that remains is what comes next? Where do the shareholders go from here on? What comes "next" is now the pressing issue.

The Palestinians have yet to explain what their next move would be. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has given us a glimpse of what could come next when he announced last week that he has decided to suspend cooperation with Israel on the Oslo Accords. Beyond this new statement of policy, there are no indications of what follow up measures or policies would the Palestinian Authority (PA) take in the aftermath of the demise of Kushner's deal.

The point here is that the PA needs to come out in the open about its next move and not stop at just halting the implementation of the two Oslo accords. Above all, the Palestinian people need to know what comes next, as they have been waiting for a solution long enough.

The PA owes it to its people to explain what comes next and how the aspirations of the Palestinians are going to be realised. In other words, the PA needs to spell out the road map for the next phase in the aftermath of the demise of Kushner's deal for ending the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

It is no longer enough to emphasise that the two-state solution and the creation of an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank with East Jerusalem as its capital are basic. How to achieve these goals is equally important.

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