It is tempting to see President Donald Trump’s ‘vision’ for Middle East peace as an alignment between the most rightwing government in Israel’s history and a US administration packed with hawks who are ardent supporters of the Jewish state for ideological and strategic reasons.
There is obviously a grain of truth in this. Cynics would add that the timing of the plan’s announcement was a deliberate diversion from the predicaments of Trump’s impeachment and Prime Minister Netanyahu’s corruption indictment, and to give them a boost as both will be facing the electorate this year.
A more historical examination, however, might conclude that the plan’s unveiling was the inevitable conclusion of the 52-year occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, and the disastrous failure of the Oslo peace process.
