July 2020
Understandingthe Trump Plan
A Comparative Analysis of the Trump administration’s Peace to Prosperity Plan and the Two-State Option
About the Study
In January 2020, the Trump administration released the political component of its Peace to Prosperity program for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The plan calls for a nominally independent state, with Israeli annexation of as much of 30 percent of the West Bank and overriding Israeli security control in the remainder of the territory. The White House framed its proposal as a “realistic two-state solution,” but how does it actually stack up against two state plans, and how does it comport with US, Israeli, and Palestinian interests? This study evaluates the Trump’s vision’s primary issues.
Study Author
Dr. Col. (ret.) Shaul Arieli is one of Israel’s leading experts on the demarcation of the future Israeli-Palestinian border and the route of the Separation Barrier. Arieli served as commander of a brigade in the Gaza Strip As part of his military service he was responsible for the preparation of the official negotiations with the Palestinians, as head of the Interim Agreement Administration under the Rabin government, and head of the Peace Administration in the Barak Government. Since retiring from the IDF in 2001, Arieli has dedicated himself to advancing an Israeli-Palestinian permanent status agreement, and was amongst the leading negotiators in the process that brought about the Geneva Initiative in December 2003.