“78 years of betrayals.”

The long history behind the Netanyahu–Trump ‘peace plan.’

Al–Nakba, as it continues. Gaza, October 2023. (Wafa), APAimages/ Wikimedia Commons

Like most others in the West’s paying-attention minority, we thought from the first the 20–point “peace plan” Bibi Netanyahu and President Trump announced with fanfare at the White House on 29 September had nothing to do with peace. Palesintians were not consulted or given any part in the drafting process. Hamas, a legitimate liberation movement fighting an occupying power as international law gives it the right to do, is to disarm and have no future role in Gaza. There is but a brief, flimsy reference to Palestinian independence and sovereignty—when “conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood.” Israeli aggression in the West Bank goes unmentioned.

Eva Bartlett put it as well as anyone in her In Gaza newsletter the other day, when she called this plan “the usual Israeli ultimatum: surrender or be murdered.” Indeed, the genocide in Gaza and the Zionist regime’s increasing aggression in the West Bank are fairly read as the grotesquely logical result of the cynical abuse of the peace process on the part of Israel and its Western supporters over many decades.

Guy Mettan, our distinguished Geneva contributor, does us all a great service by putting this latest betrayal masquerading as a peace plan in its proper historical context. This story begins seventy-eight Novembers ago, when the U.N. General Assembly voted to divide the British Mandate into Jewish and Arab states. At least two dozen Zionist deceptions have followed, always with the indulgence of Israel’s Western enablers.

We welcome Guy once again into our pages and thank him for this useful chronology of eight decades’ injustice and criminality. Useful it is to be reminded that the Zionist project known as Israel has never deserved the world’s trust and, so, its respect.

—The Editors.

Guy Mettan.

GENÈVE—Will the peace plan developed by Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu succeed in restoring peace in Palestine? The history of the 25 plans, initiatives, and other roadmaps proposed since 1947 does not inspire optimism. In about 15 cases, agreements have been reached to end the bloodshed and establish temporary ceasefires. But all the projects have failed to build lasting peace. The Trump–Netanyahu 20-point program will prove no exception. The following brief chronology shows us why.

It is impossible to compile a satisfactory list of the proposals, initiatives, and peace plans that have punctuated the Israeli–Palestinian conflict over the past 78 years, so great is their variety. Official treaties, regional initiatives, diplomatic proposals, interim agreements, and private negotiations have come thick and fast—at a rate of one every three years, on average. Even artificial intelligence cannot make sense of it all. For my part, I have selected the 25 diplomatic initiatives that I consider most significant.

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1. November 1947 : The U.N. Partition Plan. The United Nations General Assembly votes, on Resolution 181, to partition Mandatory Palestine into two states (one Jewish, one Arab) and to grant Jerusalem international status. Rejected by Arab leaders, this plan leads to the creation of the State of Israel and triggers the 1948 war and al–Nakba, “the catastrophe,” the forced expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their historic lands.

2. 1949. The armistice agreements. The U.N. and the belligerent states establish armistice lines between Israel and its neighbors (which become Israel’s de facto borders until 1967). But there is no final settlement of the Palestinian status.

3. 1967. The Allon Plan. Proposed after the Six–Day War by Yigal Allon, the long-serving minister in various Israeli governments, the plan aims to retain certain strategic areas in the West Bank while offering limited autonomy to the Palestinians. It is never implemented as a bilateral agreement.

4. 1969. The Rogers Plan. William Rogers, the U.S. Secretary of State under Richard Nixon at this time, attempts to negotiate an Israeli withdrawal from the Occupied Territories and a peaceful settlement. His attempts are unsuccessful.

5. 1973. The Geneva Conference. Following the Yom Kippur War, the United States, the U.S.S.R., Israel, Egypt, and Jordan propose a peace plan based on Security Council Resolution 242, which was passed in November 1967 and required Israel to withdraw from the territories it seized during the just-concluded war. It is a failure: Syria boycotts the conference due to the exclusion of the Palestine Liberation Organisation and the absence of a solution for the Palestinians. The following year, the P.L.O. is recognised as the representative of the Palestinian people in U.N.S.C. Resolutions 3210 and 3236 and is granted permanent observer status (Resolution 3237) at the U.N.

6. 1978. Camp David I. Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin bring Israel and Egypt into a peace treaty under the auspices of President Jimmy Carter. The Sinai is returned to Egypt. It is a regional success, but it does not resolve the central issue of Palestine.

7. 1981–1982. The Fahd and Brezhnev plans. Backed by the Arab League, the Fahd plan, named after the Saudi king and prime minister, aims to create a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders. In September 1982, after an Arab summit in Fez, Moscow presents a six-point Brezhnev plan, which is based on the same principles. Israel derails the Arab and Soviet plans, having invaded Lebanon in June with the aim of marginalising the P.L.O.

8. December 1988. Arafat’s historic speech at the U.N. in Geneva. The United Nations General Assembly holds a special session in Geneva on 8 December to allow Yasser Arafat, the P.L.O. leader, who is banned from entering the United States, to speak. Arafat delivers a famous speech to the Assembly, declaring that he renounces terrorism and proclaiming in essence: “I have come bearing an olive branch and a freedom fighter’s rifle. Do not let the olive branch fall from my hand.” He proposes a three-point peace plan, which is not followed up. However, on 15 December, the Assembly recognises the independence of Palestine by 104 votes to 36.

9. 1991. The Madrid Conference. The United States, the U.S.S.R., and a coalition of various other countries launch the first direct multilateral and bilateral talks between Israelis and Palestinians. The conference serves as a starting point for the Oslo Accords.

10. 1993–1995. The Oslo I and II Accords. Israel and the P.L.O., with Norwegian and American mediation, agree on mutual recognition of Israel and the P.L.O., the creation of the Palestinian Authority, and a timetable for interim autonomy. In a second phase, agreement is reached on the division of the West Bank into three administrative areas designated A, B, and C and the transfer of powers to the P.A. But “final status” negotiations stall.

In February 1994, Baruch Goldstein, an ultra–Zionist extremist who has emigrated to Israel from the United States, massacres 29 Muslim worshippers at the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron’s Old City; on 5 November 5 1995, another Jewish fanatic assassinates Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who has supported the Oslo agreements.

11. 1997–1998. Supplementary agreements (the Hebron Protocol, the Wye River Memorandum). Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and the United States proceed with territorial adjustments, security measures, and limited Israeli withdrawals. Agreements are signed, but their implementation remains uncertain and fragile.

12. 2000–2001. Camp David II and the Taba Accords. Ehud Barak for Israel, Bill Clinton for the United States, and Yasser Arafat and Saeb Erekat of the Palestinian Authority attend the second Camp David Summit. The Palestinians attempt to draft a final status agreement and resolve the issues of borders and refugees. There are no tangible results.

13. December 2000–January 2001. The Clinton Parameters. Bill Clinton proposes a compromise on borders, Jerusalem, and refugees. A framework is established, but nothing is signed.

14. 2002–2007. Arab peace initiatives. The Arab League, again on the initiative of Saudi Arabia, proposes recognition of Israel in exchange for the latter’s withdrawal to the 1967 borders, a comprehensive solution for refugees and Jerusalem, and an offer of comprehensive peace with Arab countries. There is polite interest but no formal implementation.

15. 2003. The Roadmap for Peace. The Quartet (the United States, the E.U., Russia, and the U.N.) proposes a three-phase plan leading to a Palestinian state side-by-side with Israel, setting out stages and criteria for implementation. This is accepted in principle but blocked by violence and various disagreements.

16. 2003. The Geneva Initiative. At the initiative of civil society, Israeli and Palestinian negotiators, including Yossi Beilin and Yasser Abed Rabbo, draft a detailed permanent agreement on borders, Jerusalem, refugees, and security based on the Clinton Parameters and the Roadmap. This is a useful model, but there is no official follow-up.

17. 2001–2003. The Zinni and Tenet Plans. American mediators and international emissaries draw up plans for a suspension of hostilities and joint security guarantees during the Second Intifada, which began in September 2000 and lasted until February 2005. This was accompanied by a roadmap for final negotiations. The Israeli response is lukewarm at best.

18. 2007. The Annapolis Conference. G. W. Bush, Israel, and the Palestinian Authority relaunch negotiations to achieve a Palestinian state and establish a roadmap for bilateral negotiations on final status. The process fails.

19. 2008. The Olmert Plan and Israeli proposals. Several successive Israeli governments (PMs Olmert and Netanyahu) offer territorial concessions in exchange for security guarantees, including a plan involving massive withdrawals and land swaps. These bilateral discussions fail to produce a final agreement.

20. 2013–2014. The Kerry Initiative. John Kerry, as President Obama’s secretary of state, launches intensive bilateral negotiations on borders and security. They break down in early 2014.

21. 2014. The Abbas Plan. Mahmoud Abbas attempts to gain international recognition for the Palestinian Authority and steps up diplomatic initiatives. No treaty is signed.

22. 2020. Trump’s Peace to Prosperity Plan (“The Deal of the Century”). After moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem in 2018, the United States proposes an economic and political roadmap outlining a non-contiguous Palestinian state under certain conditions. This is widely accepted in Israel but rejected by Palestinian leaders, who are not involved in its drafting.

23. September 2020. The Abraham Accords. Again on the U.S. initiative, mutual recognition and cooperation agreements are signed between Israel and the United Arab Emirates on the one hand, and Israel and Bahrain on the other, followed by Morocco and Sudan. The annexation of the West Bank is “suspended.” There is no reference the Palestinians.

24. 2000–2020. Various initiatives (the Munich Group, the Quartet). Germany, France, Egypt, Jordan, the U.S., and the E.U. attempt to revive the peace process through multilateral groups and regional summits. These sporadic diplomatic efforts remain ineffective.

Various ceasefire plans and humanitarian agreements are also proposed under the mediation of Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey. Ad hoc ceasefire agreements, prisoner exchanges, and humanitarian truces take place in 2008–09, 2012, 2014, 2021, and 2023–25. All of these undertakings are prompted by Israeli “mowing the lawn” military operations, including Operation Cast Lead (2008), Operation Protective Edge (2014), and Operation Guardian of the Walls in 2021. These ceasefires and truces are briefly respected but do not lead to any comprehensive political solution.

25. Peace plan for Gaza (Trump II). Following Hamas’s attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, and the two years of terror and genocide that have followed, Trump proposes a new 20–point peace agreement. A ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners take place. A summit of heads of state, held in Sharm el–Sheikh, is supposed to implement a long-term peace and the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip under the aegis of a mandate-type governance led by Tony Blair, the former British prime minister. Hamas and the Palestinians are excluded. There is no mention of a Palestinian state or the return of refugees.

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This is the history of “peace plans” between Israel and the Palestinian people since the late 1940s. My conclusion: Given the historical precedents I outline, there is no chance that the current plan will succeed any better than previous ones, even if, initially and like many earlier agreements, it will have the merit of temporarily ending the massacre of Palestinians—and even this is already in doubt. This is the established reality: So long as Israel, which dominates the Palestinians in every respect, refuses to share power or make room for a Palestinian state, no real peace agreement is possible.

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This piece appears simultaneously in Zeit–Fragen, Horizons et débats, and Current Concerns.

Guy Mettan is an independent journalist in Geneva and a member of the Grand Council of the Canton of Geneva. He has previously worked at the Journal de Genève, Le Temps stratégique, Bilan, and Le Nouveau Quotidien. He subsequently served as director and editor-in-chief of Tribune de Genève. In 1996, Mettan founded Le Club suisse de la presse, of which he was president and later director from 1998 to 2019.

Two of Mettan’s books, Europe’s Existential Dilemma: To be or not to be an American vassal, and Creating Russophobia: From the Great Schism to anti–Putin hysteria, are available in English from Clarity Press.

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