Palestinians Reject Trump's Peace Plan. But the Middle East Has Changed.
The Palestinians have served their purpose, and the Arab states who've backed them are moving on.
by Rod D. Martin
January 28, 2020
In news that shocked precisely no one, the Palestinians rejected President Trump's peace plan.
The Palestinians rejected the plan before it was announced. But that doesn't much matter. The Middle East has radically changed.
Ambassadors from Oman, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates were present at the White House when Mr. Trump revealed his plan. The Arab League is scheduled to discuss the plan on Saturday in Cairo, the official Palestinian news site Wafa reported. In separate statements, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates welcomed the plan and asked the Palestinians to consider it.
And just for good measure, Saudi Arabia has repeatedly criticized the Palestinians of late, pointedly noting that they have rejected every prior offer of peace -- even starting a war in 2000 after being offered 95% of everything they'd demanded -- and that their bad faith is getting tiresome.
Let's put a finer point on that. Egypt and Jordan have peace treaties with Israel. The…