WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — President Trump has announced his plan to broker peace in the Middle East between Israel and Palestine.
The president made the announcement on Tuesday alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Under this vision, Jerusalem will remain Israel’s undivided — very important — undivided capital,” Trump said.
The president said his “vision provides a win-win for both sides” and ensures security protections for Israel and a path to statehood for Palestine if certain conditions are met.
Reaction from Capitol Hill was almost immediate. Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy said portions of the plan violate both U.S. and international laws.
“Any claim that this plan envisions a Palestinian state is just false. The plan allows Israel to control all security matters inside the Palestinian “state”, and thus it’s not a state at all,” Murphy tweeted.
U.S. Department of State spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said the state department is working to get Palestine on board with the president’s plan.
“Our diplomats on the ground are working every single day, meeting with opposition parties, the Palestinians, meeting with civil society,” Ortagus said.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said lawmakers only got a two-page summary of the president’s plan.
“If there’s a possibility of peace, we want to give it a chance. So, see what the rest of the 80 pages say,” she said.
Trump administration officials are hopeful Arab allies like Saudi Arabia will encourage Palestine to give the Trump Middle East peace plan a chance.
