The Trump administration is almost done drafting a peace proposal for Israel and the Palestinian Authority, which “won’t be loved by either side, and it won’t be hated by either side,” US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley announced on Thursday at the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics.
Haley was interviewed by the institute’s director, former senior adviser to President Barack Obama David Axelrod. The Institute of Politics is an extracurricular, nonpartisan institute at the University of Chicago designed to inspire students to pursue careers in politics and public service. It has hosted prominent speakers such as Joe Biden, Mitt Romney, Rand Paul, Al Gore, Rick Santorum, John McCain, Newt Gingrich, Bernie Sanders, John Brennan, and Jon Stewart.
According to Haley, negotiators Jared Kushner and Jason D. Greenblatt are “still going back and forth,” which means there are plenty of T’s to be crossed and I’s to be dotted, and, most important, in the end the Israelis and the Arabs must accept it.
“It’s for them to decide,” Haley said. Revealing that the Trump plan would call for a two-state solution, she noted, “It’s hard for me to see how they would want” a single state, which is why both sides “are pushing toward a two-state” solution.
“If they decide on two states, the United States will support two states. If they decide on certain boundaries, the United States is going to support those boundaries,” Haley said.
“I do have hope, I do have faith,” Haley told Axelrod. “The Palestinians deserve better and the Israelis deserve better. Right now they’re in conflict. It’s not a good situation. If the leaders would put aside their pride and their ego, and think about their people, and improving the quality of life for their people, this peace process will do that.”