Trump's great peace plan fail

The Palestinian Authority has cut all ties with the US and Israel, including those relating to security, after rejecting a Middle East peace plan presented by Donald Trump, the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, said on Saturday.

  Guardian

Well done, Jared.

Abbas said he had refused to discuss the plan by with Trump by phone, or to receive even a copy of it to study it.

“Trump asked that I speak to him by phone but I said ‘no’, and that he wants to send me a letter … but I refused it,” he said.

Abbas said he did not want Trump to be able to say he had been consulted. He reiterated his “complete” rejection of the Trump plan, presented on Tuesday.

“I will not have it recorded in my history that I sold Jerusalem,” he said.

Sadly, Trump cannot say the same about America.

John Kerry attempts to draw Trump fire

He'll have to wait for Fox or CNN air it.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Building that wall

As we continue to make ourselves irrelevant in the world.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told Arab and Islamic leaders on Wednesday that the United States is no longer fit to broker an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal and should be replaced as mediator by the United Nations, outlining a significant policy shift in response to President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

In an impassionate speech, Abbas said his people will no longer accept the United States as a peace broker but added that they remain committed to international resolutions which have formed the basis of the process.

  AP

Jared can now concentrate on keeping himself out of the pokey.

And, as if that wasn't enough, McMaster adds another layer of bricks.

U.S. is about to lose a reliable NATO ally.

[...]

On Tuesday evening, U.S. National Security Adviser Gen. H. R. McMaster spoke at Policy Exchange in Washington, recalled that "radical Islamist ideology is a grave threat to all civilized people" and singled out Turkey and Qatar as its main supporters today.

[...]

To be clear, Mr. McMaster's remarks had nothing to do with "radical Islamist ideology" at all. Here's what makes the United States unhappy right now: First, the Astana process, which Turkey launched in cooperation with Russia and Iran, has rendered the U.S.-backed Geneva talks obsolete. At the same time, Turkey decided to purchase the S-400 air defense system from Russia instead of buying Patriot missiles from the United States. Finally, the Turks have been critical of Washington's plans to form a united front against Iran in the Middle East – featuring Saudi Arabia, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and others.

In other words, the U.S. national security adviser was upset by America's self-made disasters in the region.

[...]

Moving forward, Turkey will maintain a transactional relationship with the U.S. and cooperate with Washington if and when Turkish interests are aligned with American interests. However, the Turks will turn to Russia for cooperation at other times when necessary.

  Daily Sabah

And not just Turkey.  But, speaking of...

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan called on world powers to recognize east Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine on Wednesday and said the United States should reverse the "awful and provocative" decision recognize the city as Israel's capital.

   YNet News

Leaky, Leaky

This time, it's coming from Palestine.

According to the London-based Al-Araby Al-Jadid newspaper, which cited officials close to the Palestinian leader, [Palestinian President Mahmoud] Abbas told a recent meeting of PLO officials that the meeting [with Trump last month] was "uncomfortable," and that Trump was "angry," in stark contrast with their previous interaction in Washington, described as having a "comfortable environment" which was "far from stressful."

[...]

During the meeting, Trump accused Abbas of inciting against Israel, Al-Araby said. Trump reportedly showed Abbas a number of videos including one of Abbas saying "We [the Palestinians] incite, and the Israelis incite." This issue came up during their Washington meeting as well.

Abbas blamed the tension on Israeli incitement against Palestinians. He allegedly responded to Trump saying, "You have the CIA intelligence service, ask them to investigate the video clips and see how they were cut and fabricated in order to provoke the Palestinians."

[...]

Palestinian officials this week dismissed the reports of tension between Trump and Abbas, which according to Israeli media reports even came to the U.S. president yelling at his Palestinian counterpart.

  Haaretz

I wouldn't put it past him.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Palestine Government Deciding Wheter to Go to ICC

[...] Hamas - the war's main Palestinian participant - has signed a pledge to back any Palestinian bid to join the International Criminal Court. Palestinian acceptance of the court's jurisdiction could expose Israel - as well as Hamas - to war crimes investigations.

Hamas' written consent could further increase domestic pressure on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to turn to the court.

[...]

A hesitant Abbas has debated for months whether to join the international court, a step that could transform his relations with Israel from tense to openly hostile, strain his ties with the United States and deprive his government of badly needed Western financial support.

  AP

He’s getting financial support? Oh, yeah. Probably just enough to keep him from going to the International Criminal Court.

Last month, Abbas said he would not make a move without the written consent of all Palestinian factions.

Didn’t expect Hamas to consent, I guess.

In a new twist, the Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad group, also not a PLO member and one of the factions fighting in Gaza, said Saturday it would not approve going to the international court.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declined comment. Israel opposes involving the court, arguing that Israel and the Palestinians should deal with any issues directly.

Direct targeting.

In the past seven weeks, more than 2,090 Palestinians have been killed, including close to 500 children, and about 100,000 Gazans have been left homeless, according to United Nations figures and Palestinian officials. Israel lost 64 soldiers and four civilians, including a 4-year-old boy killed by a mortar shell Friday.

[...]

A senior Palestinian official has said Abbas likely would wait for the findings of a U.N.-appointed commission of inquiry into possible Gaza war crimes - due by March - before turning to the court.

Will he have any Gazans left by March?