Proposals on Israel/Palestine are an affront to Palestinians

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The Trump administration’s proposals on Israel and Palestine, announced on Tuesday, are an affront to Palestinian rights and dignity and have none of the elements of a realistic peace plan. The proposals, launched jointly by President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, were drawn up by Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who has extensive business and financial links with Israeli companies.

“The announcement this week provides no basis for peace and justice, and has been rejected by the Palestinian Authority. There was no serious dialogue or consultation with Palestinians. Peace can only be achieved through negotiations based on international law, not through imposing a completely unacceptable one-sided formula on the Palestinian people. The US proposals will severely damage prospects for a just and peaceful settlement,” said ITUC General Secretary Sharan Burrow.

The US formula would legitimise all illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian territory; deny the legitimate claim of Palestinians for a national capital in East Jerusalem; leave tens of thousands of Palestinian citizens of Israel outside Israel; annex large parts of Palestine including giving Israel sovereignty over one-third of Palestinian territory in the Jordan Valley; deprive Palestinians of refugee status; and eliminate UNRWA, the UN agency which is vital to the Palestinian economy. Any possibility of a Palestinian state being created would be decided by the US and Israel.

“The ITUC stands in full solidarity with its Palestinian affiliate the PGFTU in rejecting these proposals and calls on the international community to reject them as well. The only acceptable way forward is for the occupation to end and for genuine negotiations to take place, leading to the realisation of a two-state solution based on United Nations Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338 and the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as capital of a sovereign state of Palestine,” said Burrow.

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The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) represents 200 million members of 332 affiliates in 163 countries and territories.
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