David Singer’s So-called Saudi Plan

By Ted Belman

David Singer has been alone in promoting the so-called, Saudi Plan, for the Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine.  Arutz Sheva mistitled his last attempt as Israel set to uncork Hashemite Kingdom genie at UN.

Nowhere in the article is there any mention of Israel’s reaction to the “Saudi Plan” let alone its intention to promote it at the UN.

Not only has Israel not mentioned it, Saudi Arabia hasn’t either.

That said, the Plan is a far cry from the Saudi Peace Initiative tabled in 2002. That’s good, but not good enough.

Singer, took the trouble in the comment section of Israpundit.org under the article “MBS & King Abdullah keep Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine alive”, (this title was also not true. Neither MBS nor Jordan has supported the Plan.) to argue in favour of the Plan.  Every comment in response was against it. Here is a sampling:

Isn’t that what Condoleza Rice harped on, contiguous?  How can that ever be worked out!?  No to anything in Judea & Samaria. The Bedouin kinglet must not be given back what he illegally occupied til 1967. Stupid! here, take back what you had that time. Maybe he can live in his palace he abandoned. Like you say, Ted, no diplomatic solution. Jordan is the falestini state ALREADY. All this jockey-ing around is futile. I’m so sick of us caving, to our own hurt.

***

Well, that’s easy – by Israel’s “painful concessions for peace in the form of a unilateral withdrawal from Judea and Samaria (AKA the West Bank) of hundreds of thousands of Jews (AKA settlers)”.

Right after the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is formed, the Arabs will attack Israel around the perimeter and in the middle aiming at both North and South of Israel (from the road between the West bank and Gaza cutting Israel at the waist) with their newly acquired American weapons (received because of all those wonderful Arab “peace accords” with Israel) in an attempt to push the Jews into the sea and/or slaughter them where they are.

***

Singer said “the best opportunity ever to end 100 years of conflict”. Wrong. The best solution

“is to move all the Arabs out of the Green Line and Judea and Samaria to other Arab countries with monetary compensation (the Jews from the Arab countries already left them for Israel decades ago and were stripped by their Arab governments of all their possessions) and establish Israel within its Biblical borders.

“For Israel, caving in to the piece by piece for the sake of peace initiatives is suicidal.”

“And YOUR proposal is a recipe for destroying Israel and for a new Holocaust.”

***

“The former Jordanian Prime Minister, who made “peace” with Israel, just exposed the truth about why Jordan did it…’If we ever have military power, will we let them keep Haifa? We’ll take it,” Abdelsalam al-Majali said in a TV interview a few days ago…If tomorrow we become stronger and can take Haifa by force, will we really decline just because we have an agreement with them?”‘ (“The former Jordanian Prime Minister, who made “peace” with Israel, just exposed the truth about why Jordan did it…’If we ever have military power, will we let them keep Haifa? We’ll take it,” Abdelsalam al-Majali said in a TV interview a few days ago…If tomorrow we become stronger and can take Haifa by force, will we really decline just because we have an agreement with them?”‘( August 30, 2018)

***

Singer said “I have no doubt that any attempt by Jordan to breach the Peace Treaty would be met with an appropriate response from Israel.”

Umm. You mean like they said about the Oslo Accords and the Gaza disengagement and the withdrawal from Southern Lebanon?

“Peace in our time.” – Neville Chamberlin

Arutz Sheva also published “Netanyahu’s peace plan with the Saudis may also end the Arab-Israel conflict written by Singer.

When I reposted it on Israpundit there were over 100 comments from both my readers and Singer. I recommend you visit Israpundit here to read the very interesting debate.

In essence my readers rejected the Plan because

  1. They didn’t trust the corrupt Abdullah
  2. They consider Abdullah an enemy.
  3. They didn’t want any Arab state west of the Jordan River
  4. They wanted Israel to extend sovereignty over all of Area C
  5. The Plan failed in comparison to the Jordan Option the details of which are summarized here.

Arutz Sheva published Netanyahu promised Saudis to refrain from annexation in exchange for normalization a couple of days ago.

The Saudi terms make Biden and Congress the deal maker which is unfortunate. Without their cooperation, it can not happen. According to the tentative terms, Israel doesn’t have to pursue a deal with the Palestinians.  It just has to refrain from annexing (extending sovereignty to) Area C.  The Saudis also want to replace Jordan on the Temple Mount. My guess is the Saudi demands are not written in stone. They will easily give up the Palestinian cause for a role on the Temple Mount and a peace agreement with Israel.

Netanyahu should not commit himself to Biden or to MBS to not extend sovereignty. Instead he should extend sovereignty at first, at least to the 30%, come what may. Both Biden and MBS will have no choice but to accept it.

MBS isn’t considering joining the Abraham Accords (AA)  as a means to get Israel not to annex. There are other much more important reasons for joining the AA. If he accepts it, so will Biden who wants to fix his relations with the Saudis before they get fully in bed with the Chinese and the Russians.

Extending sovereignty to Area C is far more important to Israel than getting  Saudi Arabia to enter the AA. Similarly, the US will not sever its relationship with Israel should Israel extend sovereignty to Area C. The US depends on Israel for many things which she will not jeopardize.

December 30, 2022 | 6 Comments »
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6 Comments / 6 Comments

  1. Ted

    You state:

    Why do you assume that I don’t know what I am talking about when I say the King will be gone very soon.

    I have info that you don’t have.

    With respect you have been making this claim for the last seven years at least. Give us a break.

    Implementing the Saudi-based Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine solution placing the Hashemites in control of the new entity is happening right now.

    Relax and see what happens.

  3. @David Singer
    Perhaps you missed the listing of basic principles which will be governing the current govt. Two items among them strictly digress from any consideration of your ill advised advocacy for what yo claim to be the ‘Saudi’ plan:

    The Jewish people have an exclusive and inalienable right to all parts of the Land of Israel. The government will promote and develop the settlement of all parts of the Land of Israel — in the Galilee, the Negev, the Golan and Judea and Samaria.

    The government will work to promote peace with all our neighbors while preserving Israel’s security, historical and national interests.

    We will see what comes from all of this, but this govt will never support the bargain you claim will be struck.

    One thing more, you state that

    Anyone with a brain in his head should be hoping that they will succeed in the conflict being ended – not perpetuated.

    I would suggest that you are correct, if in no other context, that we should all be hoping that they will succeed in ending the conflict, but the plan you promote with our enemy, the Hashemites, will only succeed in continuing the conflict. Just as the ‘peace plan’ of 1994, and Oslo, for that matter, it fails to appreciate the false nature of the relative peace partners involved, respectively.

    Notably, Abdullah can not even boast of maintaining peace in his own kingdom of late, and yet we should offer him authority to extend his failed governance in place of the current failed governance of the PA? Oh the ironies of life and liberals never ceases to increase. Indeed as Abdullah is losing control over his own people, we should increase the people over whom he might lose control. Such rationales for peace such as this plus $5 will not even buy you a $5 latte.

  4. Here is my comment – also published by Arutz Sheva:

    Ted

    I am not going to enter into a free for all debate on the merits of the Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine solution compared to your Jordan Option.

    US-brokered negotiations have now reportedly begun between Israel and Saudi Arabia and in my opinion the Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine solution will feature prominently in those negotiations. Your Jordan Option calling for the overthrow of the Hashemites certainly will not.

    I understand the objections of many readers and yourself personally to anything negotiated by Bibi and Mohammed Bin Salman since it must involve the division of sovereignty in Judea and Samaria between Israel and the newly-created Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine as is called for in the proposed solution.

    That very painful concession by Israel will be off set by the following Arab concessions:

    1. Jerusalem will become the capital of Israel alone

    2. The 2002 Arab Peace Initiative and 2003 Oslo Accords will be superseded.

    3. The two-state solution pushed by the Arab Peace Initiative for the last 20 years backed up by the UN for the last six years under SCR 2334 will be trashed

    Bibi will be pressing for security control of all territory west of the Jordan River. If that is not agreed there will be no deal.

    I suggest your readers and readers of my articles on Arutz 7 stop frothing at the mouth and see where these negotiations lead to. Anyone with a brain in his head should be hoping that they will succeed in the conflict being ended – not perpetuated.

  5. About Netanyahu not wanting to “tear” the treaty with Jordan. The writer has not taken into consideration that with Mudar in control there would be no abrogation of the treaty, in fact the treaty-likely a stronger and more friendly one- would remain.

    It’s good that there are some who see the Jordan is Palestine Plan as being a good one. And it being in Arutz 7 , many must have read it and begun thinking.

  6. This was also published by Arutz Sheva. Here’s the best comment’

    I have followed Ted Belman’s reporting on an American news site and am astounded that the ideas he reported there, were never reported here. Particularly, an idea supported by the Jordanian Palestinian opposition figure Mudar Zahran.

    In brief, forget the Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine. Forget the Hashemites. Let the Palestinians call it what they want, if they are led by Mudar Zahran, we should support them. His idea is this: freedom. Freedom for the 70% Palestinian majority in the East Bank, Jordanian citizenship for all the Arabs of Judea and Samaria and Gaza (second part I oppose), with financial incentives to resettle in the East Bank, which he hopes to acquire from the Gulf and from us. I would support this. They are part of the large Arab nation, let them get a share of its wealth. And let people wake up to the reality once again, that they once knew: we do not control even 20% of the territory on which Palestinians reside. Our full control over Judea and Samaria does not impede the Palestinians from having a future of population growth greater than ours (they have had this in Jordan), and prosperity and nationhood, if they want it.

    This is a risky and bold proposition to support. Our army, which is risk averse, is unlikely to endorse it. Bibi is also risk averse, and would not want to tear the treaty with Jordan. Bt listen to Abdullah. He wants to tear it! If the security considerations are not unreasonable, we should support Zahran completely.