No reason for Trump optimism for Israeli-Palestinian peace
While President Donald Trump is optimistic about a peace accord between Israel and the Palestinians, past and present relations between the two make such an end to the conflict impossible (“Israel’s justice minister says Trump peace plan won’t go anywhere — and she’s happy about it,” May 11).
First, and despite his title of president of the Palestinian territories, Mahmoud Abbas has little backing for any arrangements that may be made, as a recent poll shows Marwan Barghouti, a convicted murderer with 40 percent of the vote, Haniyeh of Hamas with 30 percent and Abbas trailing with 25 percent. Most important is that 75 percent of the vote for president is for the ultra hard-liners.
Second, the long history of off-and-on negotiations starting from the Oslo accords has shown that the Palestinians are not to be trusted, with their word meaningless. The present leaders of Israel, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, are not naive enough to believe in any agreement involving the Palestinian Authority.
NELSON MARANS
New York, N.Y.
