Netanyahu says Israel is offering Palestinians ‘conditional’ & ‘limited’ sovereignty, new capital will be at Abu Dis

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he is willing to offer the Palestinian people the chance of “conditional, limited sovereignty” under the peace plan proposed by US President Donald Trump.

Trump announced earlier Tuesday that the deal would see a Palestinian capital formed in East Jerusalem, while simultaneously calling the holy city Israel’s “undivided” capital. 

Speaking to reporters after Trump’s comments, Netanyahu said the US recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, “by which I mean, within its fences.”

Netanyahu clarified that the proposed Palestinian capital under the peace plan will be in Abu Dis, a Palestinian neighborhood on the outskirts of the city.

“Israel is offering the Palestinians, at the end of the process, conditional, limited sovereignty,” Netanyahu said.

Yet, as the peace plan was revealed, Netanyahu did not wait to move forward with previous plans to annex more parts of the West Bank, which he said were areas that would remain under Israeli control under the envisioned solution.

He said he would bring a proposal for applying Israeli jurisdiction to the Jordan Valley, the northern Dead Sea and West Bank settlements to his cabinet for approval, “presumably on Sunday.”

Responding to the much-hyped unveiling on Tuesday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the plan was a “conspiracy” and Palestinian rights are “not for sale.”

The plan envisages a $50 billion dollar economic revival program for Palestine, but Palestinians have largely regarded it as a way for Israel and the US to bribe them into giving up their rights and accepting permanent occupation.

“I say to Trump and Netanyahu: Jerusalem is not for sale, all our rights are not for sale and are not for bargain. And your deal, the conspiracy, will not pass,” Abbas said in a TV address from the West Bank.

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