Palestinian Authority Submits Counter-Plan for Demilitarized Statehood Along 1967 Borders

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) -Having rejected outright the Trump Peace Plan presented in January, the Palestinian Authority (PA) has now sent a counter-proposal for statehood to the diplomatic Quartet (UN, US, Russia, and EU) that is mediating the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Times of Israel reports.

The Trump plan provides for two states, with Israel annexing all Jewish settlements and the Jordan Valley – about 30 percent of the West Bank. The plan allows for a Palestinian state in the remaining territory including outlying areas of East Jerusalem.

Rejecting this plan in its entirety, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh said at a press conference in Ramallah on Tuesday that the PA plan provides for a “sovereign Palestinian state, independent and demilitarized” along the “1967 borders” and with East Jerusalem as its capital. Under the Palestinian plan, the PA would transition from “a temporary authority” to “the imposition of a state on the ground, Shtayyeh said.
The Palestinian plan also provides for possible land swaps on a like-for-like basis between Israel and the future state of Palestine with “minor modifications of borders where necessary,” Shtayyeh added.

In any event, if Israel goes ahead with plans to unilaterally annex parts of the West Bank on July 1, Shtayyeh said, the Palestinian Authority would undertake a “constitutional announcement” and establish a “constituent assembly.” It was not clear what this would mean in practical terms.

Latest Worthy News