WILL HAMAS ACCEPT?
However, the 800-pound gorilla is still in the room. The peace plan contains elements that Hamas has rejected outright in the past – including giving up power and disarmament – and there is little to suggest that the militant group will now sign its own death warrant.
Indeed, while a senior official said it would examine the proposal, he added that it was not part of the negotiations, and all but admitted that it was presented with a fait accompli.
Another complication is the ambiguity surrounding future Palestinian statehood. According to the text of the proposal, conditions for a “credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood, which we recognise as the aspiration of the Palestinian people” may be in place in some far-off future when redevelopment of Gaza and a murky reform process of the Palestinian Authority is carried out.
Beyond calling for an inter-faith dialogue process based on values of tolerance and peaceful co-existence, and a reference to “various proposals”, the peace plan stays silent on what the reform process actually means, or how it will be measured.
AMERICAN HEAVY LIFTING REQUIRED
Finally, the success of the proposal depends largely on an extraordinary amount of American heavy lifting, particularly on the part of Mr Trump, the chairman of the so-called “Board of Peace” that will oversee the next steps.
Beyond Mr Trump’s pattern of shifting his priorities from one week to the next – Ukraine is a case in point – the volatility of US politics is another complicating factor.
