ANALYSIS: What Palestinian Arabs really think about Trump’s Deal of the Century

By Yochanan Visser, INN

Jordan Valley

Do Arabs living in areas which would fall under Israeli sovereignty under Trump peace plan really oppose the deal?

The debate over the introduction of Israeli sovereignty over areas in Judea, Samaria and the entire Jordan Valley is heating up.

In both the left and right camps, there are critics who are against applying Israeli law in the aforementioned areas.

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It is clear that President Trump’s current US administration is pro-Israel, but that is not to say that every Palestinian Arab is against the plan to officially add parts of Area C and the Jordan Valley to Israel.

On the contrary, a large majority of the 120,000 Palestinian Arabs living in the Area C and the Jordan Valley is in favor of introducing Israeli sovereignty over these areas.

This has been proven by Israeli Middle East expert Tzvi Yechezkieli who speaks fluent Arabic and is known for his investigative journalism.

Yechezkieli decided to speak to ordinary Palestinian Arabs who would be “affected” by the Israeli American plan and used a camera hidden in his glasses.

These are 120,000 Palestinian Arabs living in the Area C, and Yechezkieli discovered that a large majority of them want to live under Israeli rule.

An Arab leader in the Jordan Valley even said that if elections were held in which PA leader Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu were participating, “Bibi” (the nickname of the Israeli Prime Minister) would win.

This was confirmed by a village elder in the Palestinian village of Hussein who said that 100 percent of the residents there are interested in an Israeli ID that would allow them to travel freely through Israel.

Other Palestinian Arabs told Yechezkieli that the PA had destroyed their lives and that they prefer to live under the “boots” of the Israeli army and not under the corrupt regime of Abbas.

“We don’t want a state, we want money and normal life,” said one of them. “The PA is made up of thieves who stole our money,” added the man. Another Palestinian Arab working for the PA said that if you don’t have “protection” from someone within the PA, your life will turn into “manure”.

“Abu Mazen (a nickname for Abbas) called on us to take to the streets against the Deal of the Century (Trump’s peace plan) but no one listened to him,” said the same man.

“Our people used to listen to Arafat (the deceased first PA President) but now we know better. The PA has devoured the people, they are thieves and traitors,” said the PA employee.

Yechezkieli then went to talk to Palestinian Arabs in the small village of Jaba near the Elah Valley in Israel, where everyone was willing to speak openly for the camera.

Everyone who the Israeli journalist interviewed in Jaba said that they would like to remain under the administration of Israel and that they feared Abbas.

Israeli Arab journalist Khaled Abu Toameh, on the other hand went to talk to Palestinian leaders in the area now controlled by the PA and showed its leadership is engaged in doublespeak when it comes to another Palestinian uprising against Israel.

The incitement against the Trump plan and Israel has been intensified and the PA has ordered Palestinian intelligence agencies to hide thousands of files in preparation for a new Intifada.

Palestinian leaders told Toameh that they do not expect the people to be ready to start another rebellion against Israel because they are more interested in improving their lives.

Toameh also reported that the PA officially says that no “anarchy and lawlessness” will be allowed after the introduction of Israeli sovereignty over parts of Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley but that it won’t prevent mass demonstrations from taking place.

At the same time, however, there is increasing cooperation between the PA and the armed terrorist groups in the area. Toameh previously reported that there has been a revival of cooperation between the PA and the Tanzim and Al-Aqsa militias belonging to the Fatah organization, which is also headed by Abbas.

June 17, 2020 | Comments »

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