Possibly as part of President Donald Trump’s attempt to receive the Nobel Prize for Peace, anonymous US officials have told the AP that the administration is staffing up a Middle East policy team that would usher in that “Deal of the Century” for Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
According to AP, the National Security Council has been asking other agencies for volunteers to join the team, which will be made up of three components: one for the deal’s political and security aspects; one for economic improvements; and one for strategic communications.
An NSC official told AP that Jared Kushner and Jason Greenblatt, who have been roaming the Middle East in search of ideas and promises of cooperation for Trump’s promised deal, are “expanding their team and the resources available as they finalize the details and rollout strategy of the peace initiative.”
The White House expects the Palestinian Authority to join Trump’s mysterious plan, even though at the moment Greenblatt, Kushner, and any other White House official, including Vice President Mike Pence, are boycotted by Ramallah. Prime Minister Netanyahu, for his part, has already expressed his willingness to cooperate with the administration, but cannot be expected to eagerly support concessions, leading as he does the most rightwing coalition government in Israel’s history.
According to the AP report, it comes down to money: President Trump believes that the Arab side is so strapped for economic aid, they would sign anything for a bit of promised prosperity.
Good luck.