TEHRAN (FNA)- Stephen Lendman, author and journalist, says the so-called peace plan proposed by Washington only fulfills Tel Aviv’s wish list to annex more valued parts of Palestine.
In an exclusive interview with FNA, Lendman said the US and Israel desire to make “endless conflict” in the region, and leave “Palestinians confined to isolated cantons surrounded by hostile settlers and Israeli security forces”.
Stephen Lendman is an author who writes on major world and US issues. He is a 2008 Project Censored winner and 2011 Mexican Journalists Club international journalism award recipient.
Following is the text of the interview with Stephen Lendman.
Q: How do you view the so-called deal of the century, as only the US and Israel drafted the deal with no respect or view from the Palestinian side?
A: The Trump’s deal of the century is no deal at all. It is an Israeli written annexation scheme adopted by Trump — unrelated to peace, stability, equity and justice for Palestinians. It fulfills an Israeli wish list at the expense of fundamental Palestinian rights. Calling for annexation of the Jordan Valley and illegal Israeli settlements, it is long on illusion and short on reality about Palestinian self-determination, free from Israeli occupation. Oslo was unilateral surrender, a Palestinian Versailles, affirming a vaguely defined negotiating process to come with no fixed timeline or outcome. The Trump/Netanyahu scheme is worse. It is all about handing Israel all valued parts of historic Palestine it wants for exclusive Jewish development and use — Palestinians confined to isolated cantons surrounded by hostile settlers and Israeli security forces. No responsible leadership would accept what I call a scheme to be rejected, not accepted. The US and Israel reject regional peace and stability. Endless conflict serves their imperial interests. It is why after nearly half a century of dead-on-arrival peace plans; Palestinian self-determination remains unattained — not possible as well from the latest scheme.
Q: Both Gantz (the opposition) and incumbent Prime Minister Netanyahu have promised to approve of the deal of century upon election. How influential and determining is the so-called deal on the outcome of the Israeli vote?
A: Netanyahu and Gantz are two sides of the same coin when it comes to issues on historic Palestine and regional peace. They are thuggish warlords, not peacemakers. Throughout Israeli history, a virtual state of undeclared war existed against Palestinians and neighboring states. Gantz’s only redeeming attribute is he is not Netanyahu. But for Palestinians it will not matter who is prime minister, notably because the vast majority of Knesset members are Zionist ideologues, fascist extremists, and/or Arab-hating/racist religious fundamentalists. Palestinians have two choices — surrender their rights to an Israeli occupier or resist, the latter option the only viable one. It is their only chance to one day be free from Israel’s repressive boot. Diplomacy with the US and Jewish state is a waste of time because these nations do not negotiate.
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