U.S. President Donald Trump is reportedly expected to propose a Palestinian state on as much as 90 percent of the West Bank, with a capital in East Jerusalem, as part of the American leader’s “deal of the century.” The report, which was published on Reshet 13 TV that is one of Israel’s leading news channels, cited a senior Administration official as the source of the information. According to the report, the Trump Administration plans to annex the “major Jewish settlement blocs” in the West Bank to Israel, while isolated settlements that are not officially recognized under Israeli law would be evacuated. Furthermore, Washington plans to propose territorial swaps between Israel and the Palestinians. With regard to the question of Jerusalem, the report claims that the United States will offer “most Arab neighborhoods” in East Jerusalem to the Palestinians, as a sovereign future capital. That said, Israel will preserve the Old City of Jerusalem under its sovereignty with a joint management mechanism, together with the Palestinians and Jordanians, of the Christian and Muslim sites.
In response to the report, a White House official told TV7 that the details of the anticipated “deal of the century” are classified at this stage, and cautioned against any speculation of its contents. In separate remarks to reporters, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, predicted that the American-brokered peace initiative would not be released before the upcoming Israeli election, which are scheduled for the 9th of April.