Progressive lawmakers savage Trump peace plan
Ilhan Omar calls proposal ‘theft’ and ‘erasure’, Tlaib says it’s ‘a non-starter’; Democratic leadership contenders criticize plan for okaying annexation
Progressive lawmakers from the Democratic Party on Tuesday mocked US President Donald Trump over his Middle East peace plan, while many of the party’s presidential hopefuls criticized it, primarily for its green light for Israeli annexation of the Jordan Valley and other West Bank settlements.
Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, a frequent critic of Israel, slammed the proposal as “shameful and disingenuous.”
“They could have guaranteed justice, and brought everyone into this peace deal,” Omar wrote on Twitter. “Instead, these two embattled heads of state, impeached and indicted, have a ‘just us’ peace deal.”
“This is not a peace plan. It is theft. It is erasure,” she wrote.
She also poked fun at Trumps mispronunciation of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, which he called “Al Aqua.”
“Al-Aqua mosque” ????????♀️
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) January 28, 2020
Michigan Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, who is Palestinian-American, wrote on Twitter that “It’s fitting that the @realDonaldTrump-@netanyahu ‘plan’ was released by a forever impeached President on the same day that Netanyahu was indicted for corruption.”
“This political stunt gets us no closer to peace or justice. As a member of Congress, I consider it a non-starter,” Tlaib wrote.
She also responded in Arabic to a Trump tweet on the proposal, which was likewise written in Arabic.
Omar and Tlaib in 2016 became the first Muslim women ever elected to the US Congress.
Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, also a member of the so-called “Squad” of progressive freshman lawmakers, wrote of the deal, “Let’s remember: Trump has been impeached & Netanyahu was indicted. Releasing a plan without negotiating with Palestinians isn’t diplomacy, it’s a planned distraction.”
“I reject this pro-annexation plan, it is a step in the wrong direction,” Pressley wrote.
While other Democrats expressed optimism about the plan — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said “there appears to be a basis for negotiations” and Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel said it “gives me some hope” — Elizabeth Warren became the first party leadership contender to publicly oppose it.
“Trump’s ‘peace plan’ is a rubber stamp for annexation and offers no chance for a real Palestinian state,” she tweeted shortly after the plan was unveiled. “Releasing a plan without negotiating with Palestinians isn’t diplomacy, it’s a sham. I will oppose unilateral annexation in any form — and reverse any policy that supports it.”
Later, Joe Biden similarly tweeted: “A peace plan requires two sides to come together. This is a political stunt that could spark unilateral moves to annex territory and set back peace even more. I’ve spent a lifetime working to advance the security & survival of a Jewish and democratic Israel. This is not the way.”
Pete Buttigieg said the proposal “makes complex situations worse.
“Peace requires both parties at the table. Not a political green light to the leader of one for unilateral annexation.”
Mike Bloomberg was more reserved, offering praise that the plan included a Palestinian state, but said Trump’s actions over the past three years “hurt the US’s position as an effective broker in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” He said it was “critical that neither party take unilateral steps that could trigger instability and violence.”
