- Trump’s attempt to resolve the contention of the Middle East
By: Syed Zain Abbas Rizvi
The Israel-Palestinian conflict has been the epicentre of one of the most blood-ridden clashes the world has seen and continues to witness. After the annexation of the utterly significant Jerusalem by Israel back in 1967, the discourse had transitioned to a face off between the Israeli proponents and opponents; the demarcation of each group being quite blur due to the territorial differences. Although the skirmishes have been quite common throughout the span of the last 50 Years, the recent turmoil has stepped up due to the United States’ relentless yet absolutely biased efforts to resolve the conflict altogether. A quick look at the historical framework bordering the nerving situation; it becomes apparent to even a layman of how the innocents were troubled by the unjustified stand of the International community.
Since the independence of the state of Israel, the territory has stemmed an undulating relation between the Palestinians, the residents of the region and the pouring in of Jews from across the globe, though still tormented by the after shocks of the notorious Holocaust, entering a paradox of who deems to be the rightful resident of the domain. With the years that followed, the Israeli regime backed by the so called ‘Unbiased’ International community, repressed, tortured and occupied the settlements of the Palestinians to the point that only a fraction exists now in totality. In 2017, president Donald Trump recognised the State of Jerusalem as the Official capital of Israel much to the dismay of the Palestinian community along with the muslim countries in conglomerate. With the significance attached to the Old city in the heart of East Jerusalem, the ethnic importance of the masjid-e-Aqsa and the millions of residents living in the region under a constant overarching terror, the conflict is anything but simplistic to resolve overnight.
With the significance attached to the Old city in the heart of East Jerusalem, the ethnic importance of the masjid-e-Aqsa and the millions of residents living in the region under a constant overarching terror, the conflict is anything but simplistic to resolve overnight.
The new formed and ever anticipated plan of Donald trump, self-hailed as ‘Plan of the Century’, has been celebrated by the Israeli fanfare yet thrashed by the Palestinians and thoroughly rejected by the muslim states as ‘The fraud of the Century’. The plan outright emanates a serious bias towards the state of Israel while treating Palestine as the lesser of the negotiators. Firstly, the plan stands a firm ground of acknowledging the Undivided Jerusalem as the rightful capital of Israel while suggesting Palestine to establish its metropolis in the outskirts of the east wall separating the two disputants; cities like Kafr Aqab and Abu Dis. This stand not only comes across as a radical sham but also overlooks some of the primitive facets of the discord; including the carefree transfer of the old city to Israel, a place that holds esteem citing the ‘Dome of Rock’, a place revered as the initial destination of Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) journey of Mairaj. Secondly, the plan starkly condones the fate of about half a million Palestinian Jerusalemites post the implementation of this crude plan. The plan disregards the agrarian as well as the residencial security of the Palestinians yet prioritises the national security of Israel; allowing the Israeli state to enter the Palestinian territory at all times for the sake of disarmament of illegal weapons being produced in Palestine.
This unnecessary step by the US regime emotes how desperate the nation is to incite another contention between the two sides. With clear violations of United Nations’ resolutions regarding the safety of Palestinian refugees, breaching the international law of their return and even being as naive as not suggesting the aftermath of their release but more so, the fate of their families left behind, the future of the conflict and the intentions of the powers harkening a solution is quite apparent now. The ironic part congregating the entire plan proffered is that even with stating as non-promissory of a note as Israel not being liable to guarantee a 100% pre-1967 territory, Trump’s proposal is still being claimed as a win-win for both parties.
The author is currently pursuing an undergraduate degree at Institute of Business Administration, Karachi
