Lapid says Trump peace plan to propose Abu Dis as Palestinian capital

Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid claims that the peace plan being prepared by the US administration designates the East Jerusalem suburb of Abu Dis as the potential future capital of a Palestinian state.

Speaking at his weekly faction meeting at the Knesset, Lapid demands that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirm whether he has agreed to the plan and whether he believes the two-state solution is still a viable option.

“This would not happen without the prime minister being aware of it and giving his agreement,” Lapid says of the rumored proposal for Abu Dis.

Lapid says such a proposal raises two questions: “Has the two state solution been put back in the table with the agreement of the prime minister?” and, “Would Netanyahu accept Abu Dis as the future capital of Palestine?”

The Trump administration is reportedly aiming to roll out its much-hyped but long-delayed Middle East peace plan — which US President Donald Trump has called “the deal of the century” — next month.

Abu Dis is a suburb of Jerusalem but lies east of Israel’s security barrier and outside the capital’s municipal boundary.

— Raoul Wootliff