All parties — and especially Israeli leaders — must understand that the president’s ‘peace sham’ does not and will not represent the true interests and future policy of the United States. It contravenes the expressed will of the US House of Representatives, which just weeks ago passed a resolution that opposed unilateral Israeli annexation in the West Bank, asserted longstanding US opposition to settlement expansion and reaffirmed that any viable US peace plan must include support for a negotiated two-state solution.

By endorsing Israeli sovereignty over vast portions of the occupied West Bank, the president and his team appear to be empowering Israeli leaders to carry out unilateral annexations that would flagrantly violate international law, trample on the rights of Palestinians and grossly endanger Israel’s future as a democratic homeland for the Jewish people. They are discarding decades of bipartisan US policy in favor of a destructive effort that is certain to exacerbate the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, empower the most dangerous extremists on both sides and destabilize Israel’s already tenuous relationship with Jordan.

The timing of this announcement, coinciding with the formal indictment of Prime Minister Netanyahu and the impeachment trial of President Trump, only underscores that it is a cynical political maneuver entirely lacking in diplomatic credibility. Coming in the midst of an Israeli election campaign, this is an attempt to hand the prime minister a political gift and a distraction from the very serious charges he is facing.

This is a time when those who care about the future of Israel, the rights of Palestinians and the principles of US foreign policy cannot remain silent. This dangerous new provocation and the prospect of unilateral annexations in the West Bank require an urgent, unequivocal response from responsible American lawmakers and presidential candidates.

President Trump, Ambassador Friedman and their far-right supporters are working to undermine Israeli democracy, sabotage genuine diplomacy and codify a status quo of permanent conflict and occupation. We must do everything we can to stop them.

Al-Haq Civil Rights Group in Israel

Palestinians and the International Community Must Stand against US-Israel Flouting of International Law

Today, the United States (US) administration plans to release the so-called “#DealoftheCentury” or “Peace Plan”. While Al-Haq has not yet examined the details of the plan, we reaffirm our position that any plan or project aiming towards an effective and sustainable solution must be grounded in international law and justice – principles that must be confirmed in: an end to Israel’s prolonged occupation; the genuine realisation of the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, including the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes, lands, and property; addressing the illegality of Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory and countering annexation; as well as putting an end to Israel’s institutionalised regime of systematic racial domination and oppression over the Palestinian people as a whole, as amounting to apartheid.

The proposed US plan not only flouts international law, but also normalizes and imposes the principle of “might over right”, sustaining Israel’s colonization of Palestine. In light of this, we reiterate our call to the international community to take immediate and effective measures to ensure the primacy of international law and the enforcement of relevant United Nations resolutions and decisions on the inalienable rights of Palestinians. The international community must stop rewarding Israel’s regime of oppression and domination and its prolonged occupation and colonisation for the continued commission of grave breaches and suspected international crimes against the Palestinian people. To this end, all accountability mechanisms must be activated to ensure an end to the pervasive cycle of impunity for widespread and systemic human rights violations. In the context of over seven decades of an ongoing Nakba, third States must finally take decisive action to guarantee international justice and accountability, including by imposing sanctions on Israel until it complies with its obligations under international law.

Al-Haq reiterates its calls on the Palestinian Authority and all relevant Palestinian officials to continue to reject any form of plan or agreement that is not founded on international law, in particular the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and permanent sovereignty, and the right of return of Palestinian refugees. Moreover, Al-Haq repeats its calls for an end to the state of internal political division; to strengthen the ability of Palestinians to oppose and effectively challenge Israel’s suspected crimes, and to guarantee the space for peoples’ participation in a free and democratic society.