Images of Trump burned in reaction to Mideast peace deal

Palestinians violently riot as they react to peace deal today pic.twitter.com/78lxmbONTZ

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) January 28, 2020

The challenge President Trump faces in convincing the Palestinians to agree to his "Deal of the Century" was illustrated only hours before he unveiled the plan Tuesday as thousands of Palestinians took to the streets in Gaza and burned pictures of Trump.

Without even seeing the plan, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called for a day of rage in protest over the proposal.

"Difficult days are ahead of us," Abbas said at a closed-door meeting of his ruling Fatah faction, according to the Israeli news site Ynet.

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"We need to escalate popular resistance on all fronts and recruit the young, not abandon the streets," said Abbas. "We will stand united in the coming days and examine the position of Hamas and Islamic Jihad. In the coming days, we will be in a state of emergency and we will invite everyone to join us, we need them all."

This is what a future State of Palestine can look like, with a capital in parts of East Jerusalem. pic.twitter.com/39vw3pPrAL

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 28, 2020

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu joined Trump on Tuesday in the East Room of the White House to present the plan, the first to offer detailed borders.

"My vision presents a win-win situation for both sides," Trump said. "Today Israel has taken a giant step toward peace."

The plan would include the annexation of all West Bank Jewish settlements to Israel, along with most of the Jordan Valley. The objective is to create maximum territory with minimum non-Israeli residents so that the Palestinians could live in their own, demilitarized state. The Palestinians would be given uninhabited land in the Negev and near the Gaza-Egypt border as compensation for the territory.

It calls for a period of four years in which new settlement construction would be frozen while details of a comprehensive agreement would be negotiated for Palestine to become an official state. The Palestinians would be required to reach certain benchmarks, including implementing steps toward free speech, and rooting out terrorism and the funding of terrorists and their families.

Israel would continue to safeguard Jerusalem's holy sites and guarantee freedom of worship for Jews, Christians, Muslims and people of other faiths.

"All prior administrations from President Lyndon Johnson have tried and failed," Trump said. "In the past, even the most well-intentioned plans were light on details."

Trump acknowledged "there is nothing tougher than this one, we have an obligation to humanity to get it done."

Netanyahu praised the proposal.

"This plan is a historical breakthrough with many achievements that we never thought possible," he told reporters Tuesday, "including the immediate American recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Jordan Valley and the northern Dead Sea [area], which means that Israel will once and for all establish its eastern border."

The Times of Israel said that while the plan calls for cutting off some parts of East Jerusalem beyond the security barrier and making them the Palestinian capital, Netanyahu said "the Trump plan buries the idea of dividing Jerusalem."

"The Trump plan buries the notion of a return to the 1967 lines. It buries the idea of a Palestinian right of return — not even one refugee will enter Israel," he said.

Meanwhile, rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah joined forces Tuesday in a rare meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah in opposition to the plan, the Times of Israel reported.

"We invited the Hamas movement to attend the emergency meeting of the leadership and they will take part in the meeting," senior Palestinian official Azzam al-Ahmed said.

The Palestinians Are "Celebrating" The Peace Plan In Ramalla pic.twitter.com/GhmPci5eU1

— Yanki farber TextTrump88022 (@Farberyanki) January 28, 2020

Pipe dream?

Jihad Watch Director Robert Spencer expressed skepticism about Trump's touting of the "territorial sacrifices that Israel is willing to make for peace."

"This is unfortunate, as no territorial sacrifices other than complete suicide will ever satisfy the 'Palestinians,'" he said.

"The idea that they will accept a Jewish state of any size, in any form, is a pipe dream."

He said "a Palestinian state would simply be a new base for more jihad attacks against Israel, as the withdrawal from Gaza demonstrates."

"It would not bring peace," he said.

Mat Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, agreed.

"Although laudable, this proposed plan is a non-starter. Neither the Palestinian Authority nor Hamas will agree to a state of Israel. And history has proven that dividing the land of Israel for Palestinian control will never work," he said.

Staver said history "shows that the Oslo Accords promoted by former President Bill Clinton are a disaster."

"You cannot appease people who want to eliminate the Jews and wipe out Israel by giving them land," he said. "We now have a terrorist group controlling Gaza, and other areas under the Palestinian Authority are unsafe."

Washington Examiner columnist Tom Rogan called the deal "surprisingly reasonable."

Acknowledging its high hurdles, such as assuring that terrorist groups such as Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad cease to exist, he called it nevertheless "a serious proposal overall."

"It recognizes Palestinian needs for land, investment, and sovereignty and Israel's need for security," he said. "It also offers four years for both sides to dig into the details."

But will the Palestinians and Arab nations accept the framework?

"Some will, but Palestinian support is unlikely. But this isn't a joke of a deal, nor nearly as one-sided as was presumed," he wrote. "Presenting that seriousness in pursuit of peace, Trump deserves credit."