Middle East At the Brink of War

On Tuesday night, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas declared that he had signed security partnership arrangements with the United States and Israel. It’s a move that Abbas has threatened for a long time, but never came through until now — and it raises the prospect of new turmoil in the region ahead of the United States’ 2020 election.
On Tuesday, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden stepped into a heated discussion, informing Jewish American donors at a simulated fundraiser that he plans to change certain elements of the policies of the Trump administration against Israel.

In January, President Donald Trump launched a US-sponsored peace proposal pushing for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian dispute.

“We say a thousand times, no, no, no to the deal of the century,” said Abbas at the time. “If the Americans continue with this project, we have no problem in stopping the security coordination.”

The White House plan envisaged the development of a future state of Palestine in Gaza, parts of the West Bank, and outlying communities. It would also allow Israel to annex West Bank settlements that the Palestinians have long argued are illegal.

“When the Trump administration released its map of the proposed new two-state solution it included 15 Israeli enclaves that would be surrounded by the Palestinian state,” said Hegseth. “The spot that could become enclave eight lies deep in the Judean mountains. And it’s already inhabited by a group of deeply religious Jewish settlers.”

Hegseth knew Jeremy Gimpel, an Orthodox rabbi raised in Atlanta, and Ari Abramowitz, a Texas rabbi. Hegseth questioned them why they should sacrifice their life and the lives of their families in order to establish a new community in these desolate hills.

Hegseth has seen how such personal bonds to the property are almost as firmly felt by many on the other side of the conflict.

Offering a glimmer of hope in this severely divided place, Hegseth finally met two men — one Israeli and one Palestinian — who had formed an unlikely friendship through their partnership in the Regional Chamber of Commerce.