A report on Israel’s Channel 13 News revealed that U.S. President Donald Trump’s “deal of the century” between Israel and the Palestinians will involve creating a Palestinian state on 85-90 percent of Judea and Samaria, as well as dividing Jerusalem to make a capital for each state.
The Israeli news report purported to be based on a source who was present at a briefing by a senior American official about the plan in Washington.
If the details prove to be true, it would involve the annexation of large Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, and the creation of a Palestinian state on the remainder.
Jerusalem would be divided between east and west, with most Arab neighborhoods becoming part of a Palestinian state.
Smaller Jewish communities would not be evacuated under the plan, but would not be issued any building permits. It is unclear whether the communities would remain part of Israel or would become part of Palestine.
The plan would also give Israel sovereignty over the Holy Basin—the area of the Old City, the Temple Mount, the Mount of Olives and the Western Wall—though the area would be jointly administered with the State of Palestine, Jordan, and possibly additional countries.
The area will apparently be less than what then-prime minister Ehud Olmert offered Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas in 2008, but more than double the areas the Palestinians currently control. Olmert had offered putting the entire Old City of Jerusalem and the associated holy sites under international control. Abbas rejected the deal.
Following the report, White House special envoy Jason Greenblatt said the Israeli report “is not accurate” and added that “speculation about the content of the plan is not helpful. Very few people on the planet know what is in it.”
American Ambassador to Israel David Friedman said the plan would not be released until after Israeli elections on April 9.
