westwalesfriendsofpalestine.files.wordpress.com · Web viewLong before its formal announcement the direction of travel of Trump's 'Deal of the Century' Peace plan for Israel and

1WWFOP NEWSLETTER 14 - JULY 2020

WEST WALES FRIENDS OF PALESTINE

CYFEILLION PALESTEINA YNG NGORLLEWIN CYMRU

Newsletter No 14 Cylchlythr Rhif 14

JulyIau 2020

Welcome to our 14 th Newsletter

Hello friends and supporters of West Wales Friends of Palestine

I apologise for the delay in production of this newsletter I do hope that you will find it informative It is ever more necessary for us to be aware of the needs and situation of our friends in Palestine who are expecting a speedy move from occupation to annexation while we elsewhere are focused on the pandemic that we are all experiencing

It was good to see that a large number of parliamentarians publicly expressed their horror of the imminent annexation to the government in the face of international law Our friends were locked down throughout Ramadan We sent them our best wishes and for Eid Mubarak

Best wishes to you all in these difficult times

Annie Delahunty

PLEASE JOIN US

on

Monday 20th July 700 pm

for our

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

The meeting will take place via Zoom

The link has already been sent to

supporters If you havenrsquot received the

link amp wish to attend please contact the

Supporter Secretary dorscroxaolcom

Trumprsquos lsquo Deal of the Centuryrsquo ndash Roy Davies

Long before its formal announcement the direction of travel of Trumps Deal of the Century Peace plan for Israel and Palestine was clear The appointment of his personal lawyer as ambassador to Israel David Friedman a long term major donor to an illegal Israeli West bank settlement the closure of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation office in Washington the cutting off of millions of dollars in aid to Palestinians and the recognition of all of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and the re-location of the US embassy to the city clearly demonstrated which side the plan would favour It was therefore no surprise that the deal was not negotiated with Palestinian leaders and saw no Palestinian representatives at its launch

Launched during a week when Trump faced impeachment and Netanyahu charges of corruption the plan could focus attention away from their domestic difficulties Both also needed to shore up their support amongst crucial fundamentalist religious and nationalist supporters Netanyahursquos coalition government was in coalition with ultra-nationalist and religious fundamentalists They see biblical authority as entitling Israel to all of the West Bank calling it Judeah Samara A key component of Trumprsquos electoral base are evangelical Christian fundamentalists who again see Israel as crucial to Gods plan for earth and End Days Only 19 of such evangelicals see the US as leaning too far in support of Israel Compare this with 40 of American Jews who hold that Trump leans too far in support of Israel While the Israeli right and religious parties desire the West Bank what they do not want are the Palestinians who live there This has been a dilemma for Israel since its inception in 1948 How can you have a Jewish state if it contains too many Arabs Alongside this is the fear that Arabs will out breed the Jewish population Hence the illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank shored up by heavy Israeli security control over the remaining Palestinian parts of the West Bank

The key points of the plan include

-Jerusalem to be Israelrsquos ldquoundivided capitalrdquo while an area to the east and north of the city and beyond the separation wall called Abu Dis could be the future capital of a Palestinian state Bizarrely if they accepted the deal Palestinians would be allowed to rename it lsquoAl Qudsrsquo ndash the historic Arabic name for Jerusalem

-Recognition of the vast majority of Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian territory as part of Israel In return Israel would freeze further settlement construction for four years A Palestinian state would receive territory mostly desert near Gaza to compensate for the loss of about 30 of the West Bank A future Palestinian state would consist of what was left of the West Bank and Gaza connected by a combination of above ground roads tunnels and rail


-Recognition of the Jordan valley which makes up about a third of the occupied West Bank as part of Israel This is opposed by Jordan one of only two Arab countries with Egypt to have a peace deal with Israel

-Movement towards some form of Palestinian statehood would exclude any creation of a Palestinian army and include overarching Israeli security control in some areas including the sea This is presented as a bonus to the Palestinians as it would spare them the expense of providing such security Before receiving such independence the Palestinians would have to ensure the ldquocomplete dismantling of Hamasrdquo which governs Gaza Israel would retain sovereignty over Gazarsquos territorial waters

-All Palestinian refugees scattered across the Middle East would be excluded from the deal with ldquo no right of returnrdquo

-The possibility of stripping Israeli citizenship from tens of thousands of Arab Israelis who live in 10 border towns with those towns and their residents being included in any future state of Palestine

Despite the urging of the British Government and Tony Blair that the Palestinians leaders should engage with this dealand Trumprsquos attempt to appeal to the Palestinian people over the heads of their leaders by offering $50bn in assistance popular Palestinian opinion alone would prevent their leaders accepting this plan

An article in the lsquoIndependentrsquo by Maya Liany of Yachad( the British Jewish movement for a two-state solution in Israel-Palestine) sees the plan as being the annexation dreamed of by the Israeli settler movement But itrsquos an explosive policy not even popular with Israelis Public polls show that most Israelis are not interested in annexation and that the plan offers Israel control over areas of the West Bank most Israelis have never heard of let alone lived in She concludes ldquo Trumprsquos plan will precipitate an endless military rule enforced by Israeli teenage soldiers who will carry the scars for the rest of their livesthatrsquos why supporting this deal which will only prolong the violence and bloodshed in the region is an anti-Israel positionrdquo

It is a deal that is going nowhere no Palestinian administration could accept it It has been rejected by the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation Even the three Arab ambassadors present at its initial presentation now claim they had been misled into attendance Jordan fears that it is leading to an option favoured in some right wing Israeli circles that ldquoJordan is Palestinerdquo ndash and thus the Palestinians donrsquot need a state in the West Bank and Gaza However despite Trumprsquos claim to the contrary it kills off any genuine two-state solution and gives a green light to take forward the Israeli governmentrsquos annexationist ambitions safe in the knowledge that they will be endorsed by the Trump administration As Nicolas Burns a former senior US state department official stated it ldquoforfeits any presence of fairness and consigns the Palestinians to live as stateless people on their own land It will deepen rather than resolve this seven-decade conflictrdquo


Sources

The Guardian 28120

Independent 30120

WWWAl-monitorcompulseoriginals202002israel-palestine-peace-plan

Walking to Jerich o ndash Kate Sherringer

Last October I packed a small suitcase laced up my walking boots and set off to join the Amos Trust trek from the north of the West Bank down as far as Jericho ndash the first part of the Massa Ibrahim (Abraham Trail) I had planned it in the spring and was going alone but then two friends Irsquod met through the Refugee Resettlement Scheme in Cardigan decided that they would come as well We were expecting to join a group of about 15 other people but it turned out that there were 37 of us All of a certain age ndash I think our youngest member was 50 the oldest was 84 I came somewhere in the middle We knew the trail led from Rummanah down through the Jordan Valley to Jericho and that it would get hotter as we moved south but I donrsquot think even the organisers had expected it to be as hot as it was ndash usually in the mid twenties at this time of year but this year it was 30 plus Luckily we only had to carry day packs our other luggage was driven to each of our night time destinations These extracts from my journal give a flavour I think of the sights sounds and experiences of the tripDay1 So lovely to be in Rummanah and receive a typical Palestinian welcome from the Kindergarten Our Charitable Association guys were there as was Annie who had some influence in organising a lovely send-off for the walkers Hussam gave me a bottle of home-cured olives - luckily someone else who had hands-free offered to carry it for me I was already finding my backpack with bottles of water and a packed lunch quite heavy enough Goodbye then to Rummanah greetings and introductions from Mohammad our guide for the first leg of the journey and we were off It was hot and the walking was tough Rough ground through olive groves sandy with loose stones and some very steep paths where we needed hands to pull us up or help us down Mohammad is young cheerful and full of local knowledge which he loves to impart He wears a black fleece ( to keep warm ) and a black brimmed hat and


with his wooden staff in his hand he looks as if he might have stepped out from The Lord of the Rings The rear of the walking group was brought up by Said ndash older grey haired quiet but also smiling We walked 17 kms with several breaks to cool off under olive trees and make

sure we drank enough water We walked up to some very high points with wonderful views across valleys and hills to Nazareth in the far distance We are in a homestay tonight in Burqin and Irsquom sharing a room with one couple another couple in an adjoining room and several others in the rest of the house Six households to accommodate 37 adults ndash itrsquos quite a squeeze and a heavy toll on limited water resources As I write this the man and woman of the house are trying to put right our toilet which currently has no water ndash leading to a bit of a domestic judging by the exuberant exchange of words Oneof the reasons for the trail being established was to open up the West Bank to visitors and to engender some much needed income for the local economy All well and good but its not easy for Palestinians already living in constrained circumstances to provide what is needed for guests The finale of todayrsquos walk was in the beautiful Church of the Lepers in Burqin where we listened to a talk about the Biblical history of the place and tried to remember not to cross our legs (considered disrespectful) Moments from the day - an olive grove full of small beehives families harvesting their olives small black tea kettle on a fire boiling up sage tea men welcoming us while their wives turned away shyly a present from them -a small bottle of fresh pressed olive oil for us to share at lunchtime And everywhere people smiling lsquowelcome welcomersquo and children laughing at the sight of this huge collection of old people walking in the heat of the day with sunhats and walking sticks just walking and walking Not many Palestinians choose to go hiking but there are a few like Mohammed (and Raja Shehadah of course) who make it their life and know every hill valley and stone of their land

Day 4 We walked down from the town of Arraba where we had watched olives being moved from huge sacks along a racketing row of machines making an incredible noise emerging at the other end as light golden peppery flavoured oil The chaff and wastage is taken off at some point in the middle and we speculated what it might be used for ndash bricks roads compost During the days walk along a dusty treeless stretch we arrived at Josephrsquos Well where allegedly Josephrsquos brothers were

planning to dispatch him before they saw a better business opportunity and sold him to some passing Egyptians


Day 5 The walkers were collapsed under the olive trees desperate for lunch which we brought with us (only half the group did the morning walk ) They said the first mountain climb had been tough Lunch was delicious breads made this morning by lovely Ayat in our lodgings topped with oil and zatar or pizzas with falafel And then it started to drizzle and we had to put on shower coats as we set off The rain soon stopped and the climb up the mountain became exhilarating with sunshine and a breeze cooling us as we climbed higher and higher Mohammad told me we were 800 feet above sea level When we reached the highest point with the terraced foothills spread out below us we stood and sang harmonising our four peace songs It was a beautiful moment Then on and on until we reached the enormous hill leading up into Sebastia and our blissful lodgings in the guest houses My delight in being there was somewhat tainted when Andree ( a frequent twinning visitor from London) showed us the gas masks that they had bought for the villagers in order to offer some protection from the tear gas attacks by the military which had happened recently during incidents with settlers from the nearby illegal settlement

Day7 Walking round Nablus like tourists eating kanafi out in the street (from the famous best kanafi shop) sniffing all the olive oil soaps being offered by small boys and wandering around the spice shop in the souk Mohammed told us how the black and white checked keffiyah had become so symbolic a story I didnrsquot know During the time of the British Mandate there was a revolt among peasants and farmers The British soldiers were told to go and arrest the troublemakers ndash they would know them by the traditional scarves they wore So in an act of solidarity all Palestinians started wearing them and the soldiers were unable to identify who were the farmers and who were lsquoinnocentrsquo residents The keffiyah became a symbol of solidarity between Palestinians and those who support them Mohammed left us to go back to his little family the second half of our walk will be led by Nidal Both these men had been part of the team that set up the Abraham Trail and know all the tiny paths through mountain and desert like the back of their hands

Day 8 Orr so I thought Nidal and another guide set quite a pace and the walking became more and more narrow then seemed to disappear and we just had to fight our way through scrub and thorns and then clamber up some boulders and go up to a higher point before we could see the path again We eventually made our way down onto a wide sandy path very dry and dusty then rounding a bend we were confronted by a cacophony of barking from a gang of dogs who it seemed had been left in sole charge of a large flock of sheep and goats Although tails


were wagging there was also a lot of snarling and our guide was very anxious about passing them but nobody came to call them back so we quietly edged our way past with me muttering soothingly lsquothere there itrsquos OK wersquore not stealing the sheeprsquo which appeared to make no impression on them at all Before we set off this morning from Duma Nidal wanted to take us to see the shell of a house on the village outskirts where a terrible event had taken place In 2015 settlers had come and set the house on fire When the father ran out to stop them they attacked him so he ran back into the house The whole family died in there except for the little boy of five who was so badly burned that he still has to have operations every 6 months There were many village witnesses to what had happened and a court case was brought but only one of the attackers was actually

jailed One prison sentence for five deaths Israeli justice

Day 9 Kfar Malek to Al Auja 1410 km We had been told that this would be a very challenging walk along narrow mountain paths Difficult for a few who suffered from vertigo Actually it turned out to be my favourite day of walking We climbed up into the mountains on one side of a dry river bed (one of the woeful effects of climate change) and spent the next eight hours walking through a wild and desolate landscape There were several places where we needed all 3 guides to help us slide down rocks with a drop at the bottom but it was exciting and glorious to pick our way through rocks and boulders clambering over high points and squeezing between rocks We all slithered and slipped on the loose scree of the downward slopes and were very happy to stop under a small grove of trees while a fire was lit and the old black kettles put on to boil for sage tea This day ended rather later than expected with dusk closing in at a large Bedouin camp where we stayed the night There was a vast open-sided tent with rows of beds made up with pristine embroidered sheets Some people chose to sleep out under the stars I was happy to be in the age-group allocated a bed A huge meal had been prepared by the families that live here and was laid out on the mats which carpet the floor so we served ourselves and each other with chicken rice vegetables and bread and

concluded the evening with a group sing-song What a collection of scouts and girl guides we must have been We heard about the difficulties of life for the Bedouin community how settlers attack them while they are tending their goats Theses are traditional communities who have to manage with no infrastructure from the Israelis The camp is surrounded by the bleak hills and dunes of the desert with only the odd tree or bush I canrsquot imagine what their flocks survive on but he said they were able to do so when they could roam freely but now fear of settler attacks confine them to a smaller area He once had 22000 animals but now only 7000 Walkers like us on the Abraham Trail provide a welcome source of income Also he said when visitors are present the settlers lsquoare quietrsquo When they have gone they resume with their policy of intimidation attempting to drive them off their land


And so after 10 days and 100 miles our walk finished in a sea-level community below Jericho My feet had survived remarkably well ndash no blisters in spite of being very sore each evening Amos is suggesting that we could go back next year to complete the second half of the walk from Jericho to Bethlehem The walk is one way to experience Palestine there are other alternative travel providers possibly less challenging However you go you know there will be a warm welcome and a glimpse into life lived under occupation

Bethlehem during COVID ndash Annie Delahunty

The COVID pandemic has seen a simultaneous spread of means of keeping in contact with people who are dear to us across the globe So it is that I have been able to attend a number of excellent webinars organised by the Amos Trust the Balfour Project and others and also lsquovisitrsquo the Alrowwad Centre for Arts and Culture in the Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem These have kept me directly informed about what is happening now in Palestine and how people are responding to it And of what support they would like to have from us I am happy to tell you that there have been no cases in our twinned village of Rummanah which is now under much lighter restrictions as regards the pandemic Though still experiencing the halved wages of public servants I sent them our warm Eid Mubarak wishes

Something that has struck me repeatedly is that when asked how we can support webinar speakers the answers seem to all come back much the same Firstly that staying in contact and being their friends reduces their isolation and despair Secondly please come back and visit as it is as soon as it is safe ndash and as someone whose life was upended by visiting Palestine I can attest to that To visit Palestine and Israel in a thoughtful planned way is to learn a great deal about lsquothe facts on the groundrsquo Thirdly to pray for them Fourthly to remain aware and alert to the political situation write to MPs etc When asked directly if money would help the answer is lsquoYesrsquo but it is not the primary request not what they most value Though they are in desperate straits financially (and please give if you can ndash links at the end)

Back to todayrsquos Amos Trust webinar with Zhoughbi Zhoughbi and Lucy Talgieh of the Wirsquoam Peace and Reconciliation Centre right on the wall in Bethlehem (interviewed by Madeleine McGivern Human Rights activist recently contracted to support the twinning network) Wirsquoam neighours Aida refugee camp home of the Alrowwad centre and faces three settlements In Bethlehem you are surrounded by 23 settlements The view from everywhere in Bethlehem is of a settlement 87 of Bethlehem governorate is under occupation and expecting imminent annexation under President Trumprsquos lsquoPeace to Prosperityrsquo plan It is expected that Israel plans to carry this through very soon while


the eyes of the world are focused on the COVID19 pandemic and before there is any possibility of a change in the US presidency The people feel this pressure greatly Children are scared of the soldiers Everyone is hyperalert To the virus and much more

As I have heard on several webinars COVID 19 is not the biggest issue that they face That is the occupation It has been speeded up during the pandemic with more home demolitions and land appropriation for settlements Add to that the fact that there is a 70 reduction in water supply and the threat of cutting off electricity and internet And that the unemployment rate has risen from 30 before the pandemic to 90 now Work was mostly daily labour in Israel or the tourist industry But everything is locked down People from Bethlehem can no longer go to Jerusalem at all though it is so close Permits were needed before to cross the checkpoint ndash for work university hospital family visits etc Access to medical services is even more limited

The West Bank had its first cases of COVID19 near Bethlehem on 5 th March Early lock down by the Palestinian Authority and Herculean efforts by local people have contained the virus well ndash the latest figures I can find being 464 confirmed cases largely in East Jerusalem where a COVID testing site was demolished by the Israeli army and 3 deaths Despite the refusal of Israel to allow PPE sent to Palestine to be allowed to enter Many cases were in daily workers who queue every day to pass through checkpoints from the West Bank in the hope of work in Israel ndash which has a higher prevalence of COVID19 Schools universities restaurants and community centres are locked up Add poverty high population density and a serious food shortage to this mix and it becomes truly toxic

The Wirsquoam centre is working hard to provide food for the most vulnerable families and work for women and the poorest Based on the skills that they have ndash cooking embroidery making baskets etc Things that can be sold for a small amount of cash And reduce the tension at home It will also hold its annual childrenrsquos camp three times this year to reduce the number attending each session and the risk of virus transmission Zhoughbi repeatedly spoke of their role in providing a space to breathe In their small garden they plant trees and flower seeds There has been a surge in domestic violence during the lockdown Wirsquoam provide support conflict resolution and a refuge for families encountering more pressure than ever before ndash people of a refugee camp half of whom are under 18 mostly without work with little food or money limited water and in the daily expectation of annexation A lsquopowder kegrsquo he described it as

I have watched the strongest most creative and giving members of this community grow older in front of my face as I have been in contact with or at webinars with Dr Abdelfattah Abusrour who established the Alrowwad Centre for Culture Arts and society ndash out disinfecting Aida Camp streets delivering food parcels supporting the community httpswwwalrowwadorgen

And Wirsquoam The Palestinian Conflict Transformation Centre wwwalaslahorg


There is much to see on the Amos Trust website also ndash possibly this interview soon httpswwwamostrustorg

My heart and greatest respect are with them

Olive groves are central to the Palestinian way of life The wanton destruction of olive trees by settlers has increased during this time Written in 2004 this poem seems even more relevant during these times and with the threat of annexation

Song of the Olive Tree by Leon Rosselson

My fathers father planted hereon this now-broken earth an olive treeAnd as a child I sang to it my secretsand as I grew I felt it part of me

Its branches gave me shelter from the stormIts grey-green leaves shaded my young dreams

The fruit it gave was like a gift of hope Of all the olive trees I loved this one

The settlers came they beat us black and blueThey said next time we shoot youunderstandBut still we dared to come we had no choiceWe came at night like thieves to our own landLike ghosts we came there women children menTo pick the crop as we had always doneFor centuries we harvested in peaceThe oil we pressed was sweet precious as gold

Now look this is a cemetery for treesTheir great machines turned hope into despair


They ripped the heart from every living treeexcept for one-my tree they chose to spareThey dug it up they carried it awayMy olive tree they saw it as a prizefor some Israeli rich enough to payfive thousand dollars worth thats what they say

Do you believe in ghosts Last night I dreamedmy fathers father came to meHe took my hand and held it in his ownand said take heart-here is my olive tree

And when I woke it was a kind of birthand in my hand I held an olive stoneAnd in the field where once my tree had stooda thousand shapes arose out of the earth

I saw them standing women children menand each hand held a perfect olive stone

And each heart held a vision of to comewhen all our olive trees will bloom again


Last year WWFOP with your support paid for the refurbishment of Rummaneh kindergarten play area including equipment amp astroturf The area had very little in the way of play equipment and only rough ground Photos below show work in progress amp some very happy pupils



Help ndash Wersquore walking to Jerusalem Again Via Syria

Some may remember that in 2017 the Amos Trust organised a 3000 mile walk from London to Jerusalem to apologise to the Palestinian people for Britainrsquos Balfour Declaration of 1917 In 2020 theywe are walking again to say ldquoNordquo to Israelrsquos planned annexation of up to a third of the West Bank and to raise the money needed to keep calling for justice for Palestinians and to support our own friendship twins

I took part in the final stage of the first walk and want to involve others in West wales who seek Justice for Palestine to take part in this re-imagined walk Swansea Sabeel Kairos group are with us

The Amos Trust have agreed for us to keep half of any money we raise to support West Wales Friends of Palestinersquos work WWFoP have no other means of raising money during a pandemic and the need in Palestine is desperate This lsquosponsored walkrsquo gives us an opportunity to

- Walk in solidarity with Palestinians in saying lsquoNorsquo to annexation- Raise money for Amos Trustrsquos advocacy work for justice in Palestine- Raise money to support WWFoPrsquos friends in Palestine

Walking will be by yourselves wherever you can By as many people as are willing to commit to a certain number of miles over the months of July and August I am already counting up my daily walks and even that between us all will make a great total One couple have already committed to 300 miles ndash the Syrian length of the walk - and will be doing some Syrian cooking at home Making it even more like walking in solidarity I have arthritis but can manage at least two miles a day ndash ie commit 120 for this cause from Llangain lanes So PLEASE let me know how many miles you will commit to walk Let all your walking be in solidarity with justice for the Palestinian people For all the people between the Jordan river and the Mediterranean sea


To raise money we need sponsors This is a difficult time for all of us financially for many But if you can I am asking you to support the Palestinian people via the Just Giving page that we will share with all supporters Please share it with your family Facebook friends anyone you can think of who might care and support

In the many webinars that I have attended over the last few months and at the annual conference of the Britain Palestine Friendship and Twinning Network (just prior to lockdown) the Palestinian people have been clear that their biggest challenge is the occupation It is a year since all public employees had their salaries cut by 50 The US the core donor has pulled out of supporting the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (

wwwunrwaorg) which provides for the basic needs of the refugees in the camps They handled the first Coronavirus outbreak magnificently but now are in a second lockdown

We will share our Just Giving page via our Facebook group (West Wales Friends of Palestine) and an email from our membership secretary

Please support our Palestinian Friends by

- Committing to walking a number of miles andor- Sponsoring walkers via the Just Giving page and sharing it- Advise our membership secretary by email of how many miles you are committing to

Thank you

Annie Delahunty

Chair

West Wales Friends of Palestine

PS Please visit the Amos Trust website

httpswwwjustgivingcomcampaignjustwalkagain


They are a wonderful human rights organisation which works where few others do and build human community understanding and practical support for the people that many forget Their Amos5 webinar series is still available on their site and gives inspiring insight and first hand knowledge of their work on the ground with partners in the West Bank Gaza Tanzania and Burundi

Here are a few links to some online forthcoming events-

httpswwwpalestinecampaignorgeventsstand-up-for-palestine-2020

httpswwwamostrustorgdiary

httpsmfacebookcomMedicalAidforPalestiniansphotosa16283787558210156937915590583type=3


Trumprsquos lsquo Deal of the Centuryrsquo ndash Roy Davies

Long before its formal announcement the direction of travel of Trumps Deal of the Century Peace plan for Israel and Palestine was clear The appointment of his personal lawyer as ambassador to Israel David Friedman a long term major donor to an illegal Israeli West bank settlement the closure of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation office in Washington the cutting off of millions of dollars in aid to Palestinians and the recognition of all of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and the re-location of the US embassy to the city clearly demonstrated which side the plan would favour It was therefore no surprise that the deal was not negotiated with Palestinian leaders and saw no Palestinian representatives at its launch

Launched during a week when Trump faced impeachment and Netanyahu charges of corruption the plan could focus attention away from their domestic difficulties Both also needed to shore up their support amongst crucial fundamentalist religious and nationalist supporters Netanyahursquos coalition government was in coalition with ultra-nationalist and religious fundamentalists They see biblical authority as entitling Israel to all of the West Bank calling it Judeah Samara A key component of Trumprsquos electoral base are evangelical Christian fundamentalists who again see Israel as crucial to Gods plan for earth and End Days Only 19 of such evangelicals see the US as leaning too far in support of Israel Compare this with 40 of American Jews who hold that Trump leans too far in support of Israel While the Israeli right and religious parties desire the West Bank what they do not want are the Palestinians who live there This has been a dilemma for Israel since its inception in 1948 How can you have a Jewish state if it contains too many Arabs Alongside this is the fear that Arabs will out breed the Jewish population Hence the illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank shored up by heavy Israeli security control over the remaining Palestinian parts of the West Bank

The key points of the plan include

-Jerusalem to be Israelrsquos ldquoundivided capitalrdquo while an area to the east and north of the city and beyond the separation wall called Abu Dis could be the future capital of a Palestinian state Bizarrely if they accepted the deal Palestinians would be allowed to rename it lsquoAl Qudsrsquo ndash the historic Arabic name for Jerusalem

-Recognition of the vast majority of Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian territory as part of Israel In return Israel would freeze further settlement construction for four years A Palestinian state would receive territory mostly desert near Gaza to compensate for the loss of about 30 of the West Bank A future Palestinian state would consist of what was left of the West Bank and Gaza connected by a combination of above ground roads tunnels and rail










Sources

The Guardian 28120

Independent 30120
































































Thank you

Annie Delahunty

Chair



















Sources

The Guardian 28120

Independent 30120
































































Thank you

Annie Delahunty

Chair











Sources

The Guardian 28120

Independent 30120
































































Thank you

Annie Delahunty

Chair






































































Thank you

Annie Delahunty

Chair

































































Thank you

Annie Delahunty

Chair





























































Thank you

Annie Delahunty

Chair
























































Thank you

Annie Delahunty

Chair


















































Thank you

Annie Delahunty

Chair











































Thank you

Annie Delahunty

Chair

































Thank you

Annie Delahunty

Chair



























Thank you

Annie Delahunty

Chair

























Thank you

Annie Delahunty

Chair
























Thank you

Annie Delahunty

Chair

















Thank you

Annie Delahunty

Chair

















Documents

westwalesfriendsofpalestine.files.wordpress.com · Web viewLong before its formal announcement the direction of travel of Trump's 'Deal of the Century' Peace plan for Israel and