By Denis Korkodinov
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement is ready to reject the US plan to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict. This was officially declared, speaking on May 30, 2019 on Lebanese television “Al-Manar”, one of the leaders of the Ziad al-Nahla movement. In his opinion, Palestine will attempt an armed resistance if Washington and Tel Aviv attempt to impose their peace terms on the Arabs.
In his speech, Ziad al-Nahla noted that the plan of Jared Kouchner, known in the American press as the “deal of the century”, does not involve the participation of the Palestinian people, which is why this plan cannot reward any military-political consequences for Palestine. In addition, Palestine has the absolute right not only to reject the peacemaking initiative proposed to it, but also to regard it as a clearly hostile act of the administration of the White House and Israel.
There is a high probability that the United States will present its plan of reconciliation between the Palestinian Authority and Israel during the Peace for Prosperity conference, which starts in Bahrain on June 25, 2019. The format of the upcoming conference drew criticism from the leaders of several states, who are unanimous in the opinion that the proposed plan of action could provoke a new wave of conflict. So, China, Russia and Iraq officially refused to participate in the conference, who expressed doubts about the expediency of attracting investments to Palestine without political settlement of the existing dispute.
“Islamic Jihad” intends to use the full range of protest measures, including diplomatic and political pressure on Washington, in response to the proposed “deal of the century”. At the same time, the use of military force is not excluded, as a result of which the “deal of the century” can quickly grow into a “conflict of the century”, since it is expected that not only Palestinians living in the West Bank will be involved in it, but also in Europe and the USA that involves the emergence of a whole galaxy of local conflicts around the world.
The most interesting thing is that the Islamic Jihad is not the only group of forces that is ready to offer armed resistance to the United States and Israel in the event of the implementation of Jared Kushner’s plan. Thus, the movement intends to support Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran.
Thus, the scenario of the proposed hostilities may involve not only the participation of Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Lebanon, Iran and its associated Turkey will take part in the conflict on the side of the Arabs if the opposition becomes irreversible. In turn, the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and a number of other states are ready to stand on the side of Tel Aviv. In this scenario, the risk of the Arab-Israeli confrontation growing into a global crisis is very high.
(The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of World Geostrategic Insights).