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The Thinking Behind the U.S. Mideast Peace Plan
(JNS) Special envoy Jason Greenblatt interviewed by Josh Hasten - Jason Greenblatt, assistant to the president and special representative for international negotiations, has been the face of the Trump administration's efforts to roll out a comprehensive plan for Mideast peace. Greenblatt: "Our plan begins with reality....[Other plans] were always relying on tired notions of what it should be. Instead, it focuses on what it could be....It's an extensive document that we've developed that explains how we think the conflict can be resolved. It lays out each issue and proposed solutions very clearly...a deal which we think is realistic, fair, and, equally important, implementable." "Earlier this year, the president directed a review of U.S. assistance to the Palestinian Authority, as well as to the West Bank and Gaza, to ensure that the funds were being spent in accordance with U.S. national interests, and also providing value to the U.S. taxpayer. Per that review...we're going to be...redirecting more than $200 million of fiscal year 2017 economic support funds...to higher priority projects elsewhere." "It's been clear for years that UNRWA's model of operations is completely unsustainable....It's tied to an endlessly and exponentially expanding community of beneficiaries....We also made it clear back in January, when we made our $60 million contribution, that the U.S. is no longer willing to shoulder a disproportionate share of UNRWA's costs while other donors lag behind....At the end of the day, the international community did not prove itself willing to fix this problem....We're ready to engage with other governments in the region and elsewhere to see if we can transition UNRWA's services to other governments or international organizations." "If we don't resolve the situation in Gaza, it will be an obstacle on the road to peace....It's not a secret that the Palestinians of Gaza are hostage to Hamas, and they have suffered terribly under Hamas' iron-fist rule....There are Palestinians in Gaza who would rather seek peace, instead of watching violent protests and rockets and burning kites with swastikas adorned on them. And we're just going to have to work very hard to reach that population." "Israel is going to have to be comfortable that what we put forth in the plan does not put Israel at risk. And we think we've devised a plan that takes all of Israel's security issues - and they are many...into account....We will not put forth a plan or endorse a plan that doesn't meet all of Israel's security issues because they are of extreme importance to us."