(OPINION) Times of Israel – Claiming to have obtained a copy of the Trump administration’s long-awaited peace deal, a Lebanese TV station asserted Monday that the US plan envisions a tripartite agreement providing for Palestinian statehood to be signed by Israel, the West Bank-based Palestine Liberation Organization and the Hamas terrorist group that rules the Gaza Strip. The report by the pro-Hezbollah Al-Mayadeen features details that starkly contradict the limited information the administration has released about the plan, and that stand at sharp odds with known US and Israeli positions, casting considerable doubt on the credibility of the report.
The report claimed the United States would end its economic support for Israel if the Jewish state rejects the deal, which reportedly provides for establishing a Palestinian state in Gaza and parts of the West Bank to be called “New Palestine.” The same was said for the Palestinians, though if the Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror groups balk, and the PLO accepts, it would distinguish between the Ramallah leadership and the terrorist organizations. The report further claimed that, in the deal, Saudi Arabia would become the custodian of the highly sensitive Temple Mount holy site in Jerusalem, which is currently under Jordanian and Palestinian custodianship and is secured by Israeli police. Israel would apparently retain overall sovereignty at the Mount, the report indicated. READ MORE
