{"id":2396,"date":"2020-01-29T08:51:19","date_gmt":"2020-01-29T14:51:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/peacenotwalls\/?p=2396"},"modified":"2020-01-31T12:43:11","modified_gmt":"2020-01-31T18:43:11","slug":"responses-to-president-trumps-peace-to-prosperity-document","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/elcasumud\/responses-to-president-trumps-peace-to-prosperity-document\/","title":{"rendered":"Responses to\u00a0President Trump\u2019s \u201cPeace to Prosperity\u201d document"},"content":{"rendered":"

On January 28, 2020 President Trump presented his administration’s “Peace to Prosperity” proposal.<\/p>\n

Here is a brief description (from the Washington Post<\/a> ):<\/p>\n

“The Trump administration\u2019s now-published \u201cvision for peace,\u201d<\/a> the culmination of what the president said was \u201ca long and very arduous process,\u201d outlines a scenario in which Israel maintains sovereignty west of the Jordan river, a capital in an undivided Jerusalem, and control over Jewish enclaves and settlements scattered through the Palestinian territories.<\/p>\n

The Palestinians, meanwhile, get \u2026 not much. In Trump\u2019s scheme, backed by Netanyahu, they would give up the claims of Palestinian refugees and accept a conditions-based path to statehood<\/a> in a patchwork of territory carved up by Israeli roads and settlements. Trump\u2019s plan cedes security control of the eastern border with Jordan wholly to Israel, calls for the dismantling of Palestinian militant groups and allots a Palestinian capital on the eastern outskirts of Jerusalem \u2014 rather than in East Jerusalem proper, as envisioned by the international community and successive U.S. administrations.”<\/p>\n

ELCA Presiding Bishop Eaton issued a statement<\/a> on January 28, 2020 in response, saying:<\/p>\n

“I am very dismayed and disturbed by President Trump\u2019s announcement of a \u201cpeace plan\u201d that, I fear, will bring greater insecurity for Israelis and Palestinians instead of peace.<\/p>\n

Our church has long held that any successful settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict must be based on negotiation between the parties. Unfortunately, this \u201cplan\u201d has involved only one party. A plan made for a people without consulting that people will not bring peace. It also seeks to remove from the table many of the final status issues by effectively giving a green light to Israel to further entrench\u00a0the occupation, rather than end\u00a0it, –\u00a0a\u00a0policy<\/a> we have advocated for years…<\/p>\n

Therefore, I call upon President Trump to develop a different plan that would involve all parties, and to pursue efforts that would adhere to international law and human rights conventions. This plan should ensure the protection and preservation of internationally recognized human rights and realize, for Palestinians and for Israelis, two viable, secure states living side by side in peace.”<\/p>\n

Bishop Sani-Ibrahim Azar of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) released a statement on 29 January<\/a> calling on partner churches to urge their governments to take specific action.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeace can never be unilaterally imposed,\u201d write Lutheran World Federation (LWF) president Archbishop Panti Filibus Musa, and LWF General Secretary Rev Dr Martin Junge in a statement released on 29 January<\/a>. \u201cThe plan ignores fundamental principles of international law and human rights conventions, as well as numerous UN General Assembly and UN Security Council resolutions, setting a dangerous precedent for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

The statement continues: “The LWF calls upon the international community<\/p>\n