The ACRPS has published The Trump-Netanyahu Deal: the Path that Led to the "Peace" Plan and What is to be Done by Azmi Bishara, providing an analytical and critical look at the plan that has come to be known as the "Deal of the Century".
In his latest book, Bishara reviews the most important US initiatives since 1967 intended to solve the Palestinian issue, demonstrating the dangerous turning point represented by the recent Trump-Netanyahu deal. Not only is this clear from the content, but also from the fact that the deal was put forward in the name of a US president, the leader of the country that has monopolised the patronage of the so-called peace process between Israel and the Palestinians since the Oslo Agreement in 1993.
Bishara also critically deconstructs the text of the US initiative, examining the trajectory that brought the Palestinian issue to this point, and asks what should be done. It reviews the changes that have occurred in the Palestinian cause and the strategies for working for justice in Palestine. The book concludes with a special section on the Arab public opinion, which rejects normalisation of relations with Israel. This book (172 pp.) is made up of four parts.
In the first part, Bishara provides a brief overview of the US initiatives to resolve the Palestinian issue that have been put forward since 1967 to demonstrate how "Trump's vision" constitutes a fundamental change in the American position, from alignment and alliance with Israel to avowed, unchecked conformity with the positions of the Israeli right. In documenting these past initiatives, Bishara refers to the Arab and Israeli responses to these plans and projects, revealing - contrary to prevailing opinion - that the Arab positions towards these initiatives were more positive than that of Israel, largely characterised by rejection and unwillingness to concede.
Bishara goes on to explain how the Trump administration had already put the "deal of the century" into action prior to its announcement through ceasing funding to UNRWA, moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem which it recognized as the capital of Israel, expelling the PLO mission from Washington, and declaring that Israeli settlements in the West Bank are not a violation of international law.
Bishara deconstructs the text of the "Trump-Netanyahu deal" to settle the Palestinian issue, disproving many of the fallacies in the text. He believes that "Trump's vision" enshrines the logic of force and control over the Arabs. Therefore, the fact that some Arab countries responded to this "vision" by declaring their support set a dangerous precedent that encourages the Israelis to adopt and adhere to this logic. Meanwhile, there was a variety of European responses that, as events have demonstrated, have no real impact and cannot be relied upon unless there is progress toward building a strong pro-Palestinian bloc in European public opinion.
Bishara then discusses regional developments that led to the formulation of this dangerous document, beginning with the decline of Arab nationalism since the 1970s, some Arab regimes and the Palestine Liberation Organization signing peace treaties with Israel, then the division of the Palestinian factions. Bishara believes that conflicts between the Arab regimes affected the position of the Palestinian question regarding international alliances, as their stances were determined according to the regimes' need for the legitimacy the issue represents in the popular consciousness. Then, Bishara discusses the settlement expansion in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and how Israel took advantage of events in Palestine and the Arab region to ramp up settlement expansion.
In the third section, Bishara talks about the strategy that Palestinians ought to employ, wherever they live, in their battle against the apartheid regime. He believes that this strategy requires extensive organisation and coordination, without compromising the privacy of each Palestinian grouping and the nature of their struggle. He stresses the importance of having local leaders who work independently on the issues of their social base and constituents and a framework that defines inclusive national agendas.
In the final part of his book, Bishara examines public opinion trends regarding the Arab-Israeli conflict and the Palestinian issue. Based on Arab Opinion Index results from 2011 to 2020, he emphasises that Arab opinion leans towards the democratic system, and that the most important problems facing these countries are economic issues related to unemployment, poverty, the declining standard of living, political instability, or the lack of security. This same public opinion consistently expresses support for the Palestinians and refuses to recognise Israel as an occupying power, contrary to some perceptions.
