The Art of the Pre-Rejected 'Peace' Plan
The official word from NPR suggests that 'far-right Israeli officials' are displeased with Trump's new blueprint, specifically because they 'want the land for Jewish settlements.' This isn't exactly groundbreaking news; the expansion of settlements has been a stated policy goal for various Israeli governments and a rallying cry for the settler movement for decades. What’s genuinely baffling is the
persistent performance of surprise when these factions act precisely as advertised. THE ACTORS & THEIR INCENTIVES: Always the Same Play The key actors here are, predictably, former President Trump and 'powerful figures in Israel’s government,' a polite euphemism for the Likud-led coalition and its ideological allies. Trump’s motivation is transparently domestic: to galvanize his evangelical
Christian base and pro-Israel donors ahead of an election. His previous 'Deal of the Century' largely consisted of codifying existing settlement expansion and annexations, framed as a gift to Benjamin Netanyahu's government. This new plan, whatever its unpublished details, likely follows a similar script. For the Israeli 'far-right' – a term that, in this context, describes mainstream figures like
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir – their incentive is clear-cut and consistent: territorial control and the expansion of Israeli sovereignty beyond the 1967 lines. Smotrich, for instance, openly advocates for Jewish settlement across the entire West Bank and Gaza, as detailed in his 2017 'Decisive Plan.' They gain political capital by demonstrating