US lawmakers slam Trump's 'anti-peace' plan

ANKARA

American lawmakers accused the so-called peace plan unveiled Tuesday by U.S. President Donald Trump as a "one-sided proposal" and "anti-peace plan."

Reactions came after the announcement of the long-awaited proposal on Palestine and Israel by Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House.

Bernie Sanders, one of the leading Democratic hopefuls for the 2020 presidential elections, said Trump's plan will "only perpetuate the conflict" between two countries.

"The United States can bring unequaled leadership to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but we must use that leadership to promote a just and durable agreement. Any acceptable peace deal must be consistent with international law and multiple UN resolutions," Sanders tweeted.

"It must end the Israeli occupation and enable Palestinian self-determination in an independent state of their own alongside a secure Israel," he said.

"Trump's so-called 'peace deal' doesn't come close, and will only perpetuate the conflict. It is unacceptable," he added

"This one-sided proposal is a cynical maneuver calculated to be rejected by the Palestinians and then green-light illegal annexation," said Senator Chris Van Hollen in a tweet.

"It undermines decades of bipartisan U.S. policy and international law. Far from the 'deal of the century' this is the 'disaster of the decade," Van Hollen said, referring to the way Trump describes the proposal.

"Timing is everything here. The Trump plan is not about advancing peace. It’s a deliberately timed ploy to interfere in the Israeli elections by distracting attention from Netanyahu’s formal indictment for bribery today and to divert from Trump’s impeachment proceedings," he said.

He emphasized the so-called peace plan "will only lead to more division and conflict" in the region.

"Claiming to advance peace without the involvement of one party to the conflict is a diplomatic hoax that undermines the chance of a genuine two-state solution," he said, "It’s an 'anti-peace' plan."

"This is not a peace plan. It is theft. It is erasure," Congresswoman Ilhan Omar said as she retweeted Netanyahu's announcement that "Israel will apply its laws to the Jordan Valley and to the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria."

"They could have guaranteed justice, and brought everyone into this peace deal," Omar said. "Instead these two embattled heads of state, impeached and indicted, have a 'just us' peace deal."

"It’s shameful and disingenuous!" she added.

"Don't be fooled," Congressman Andy Levin said on Twitter, adding Trump proposal of "the two-state solution is in name only" and it is not promising "a lasting peace that will protect Israel's future as a democratic homeland for the Jewish people or fulfill Palestinians’ aspirations for self-determination."

Citing Netanyahu's words as Omar did, Levin said: "The word you're looking for is 'annex,' and it means disaster for Israel's future as a democratic Jewish state and the Palestinian people."

"It’s fitting that the @realDonaldTrump-@netanyahu 'plan' was released by a forever impeached President on the same day that Netanyahu was indicted for corruption," congresswoman Rashida Tlaib tweeted.

"This political stunt gets us no closer to peace or justice. As a member of Congress, I consider it a non-starter," Tlaib added.

Trump's announcement comes as he finds himself in the thick of an impeachment investigation that has gained steam after bombshell revelations from a former top aide, and as Netanyahu withdrew his request that Israel's legislature vote on possible immunity from three graft cases he is facing amid a lack of support and political blowback ahead of March's nationwide elections.

Netanyahu was formally indicted on Tuesday on charges of corruption including bribery, fraud and breach of trust.

The so-called peace plan unilaterally annuls previous UN resolutions on the Palestinian issue and gives Israel pretty much everything the Israelis have been demanding.

Thousands of protesters took to the streets in various parts of Palestine and Amman, Jordan in reaction to the plan's formal rollout.

"Free Palestine" hashtag became the top world trend on Twitter.