Obama Peace Plan

By Haitham Sabbah

A draft of the Obama peace plan, which is expected to be released at the UN Assembly meeting in New York, or at the G-20 Summit in Pittsburgh, has surfaced.

The International Middle East Media Center's website leaked the alleged draft of Obama's peace plan given to them by Palestinian Legislator Hasan Khreisha. Khreisha added that the draft has been widely distributed among Palestinian and Arab leaders and the Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak, recently discussed the plan during his visit to the White House.

According to Khreisha, the draft includes ten main points detailed as follows:

1. International presence in the Jordan Valley, Palestinian Plains area, and other areas in the West Bank.

2. Annexing some parts of East Jerusalem to remain under Israeli control, while Muslim holy site would be under Arab control.

3. All Palestinian factions would be dissolved and transformed into political parties.

4. Large settlement blocs in the West Bank would remain under Israeli control, while negotiations would be conducted within three months of the plan agreement?, to discuss the future of smaller settlements.

5. Several areas in the West Bank would be disarmed, and Israeli would maintain aerial control.

6. Intensifying the Palestinian-Israeli security coordination.

7. The Palestinian Authority would not be allowed to have military alliances with regional countries.

8. The United States would guarantee the establishment of a Palestinian State in the summer of 2011.

9. Allowing an agreed upon number of refugees to return, and to be settled in the Plains area and other areas in the West Bank, particularly in the cities of Ramallah and Nablus. A special fund for supporting the refugees would also be established.

10. Israel starts releasing the Palestinian political detainees immediately after the peace deal is signed. Three years would be allocated for the release of the detainees.

No one can be sure this is the final draft of the Obama peace plan, but it has the resonance of credibility.

Besides its many flaws, the peace plan should have begun with ending the US/Israel siege of Gaza. That would have been a signal that the US and Israel are really serious about peace in the Holy Land. The plan fails to address boarders, water, trade and the apartheid wall.

The 11,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israel will be released over a period of "three years", longer than Guantanamo Bay. The question we want to ask is: will Marwan Barghoutti be released in time to partake in the negotiations? The answer to this is obviously, no.

US expect Israel to accept these terms on the premise that the Obama Administration adopts a stronger position towards halting Iran's nuclear ambitions. The same nuclear program that US chief of intelligence has confirmed in his findings in a 2007 report, did not exist.

Even if Abbas and Arab administration accept this plan (which will not be accepted by majority of Palestinian people and millions of their supporters around the world), Israel will again fool US Administration to fulfill their part toward Iran but in return Israel will not move one step towards peace.

Another four to eight years – the age of Obama Administration in office – will pass, nothing will change on ground more than more Palestinian lands will be stolen by Israel and more Palestinians and innocents in both sides will be killed.

http://sabbah.biz/mt/archives/2009/09/05/obama-peace-plan/