The US administration recently announced jointly with the Israeli government a so-called “Deal of the Century,” a proposal to partition the Palestinian and Israeli territories seeking to bring lasting peace to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict through the mutual “exchange” of territories, as espoused in the statement issued by the United States and Israel. According to this plan, Palestine would permanently cede the capital of Jerusalem and would accept the Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, while in return Israel would surrender part of the territories under Israeli sovereignty populated by Palestinians.

Esquerra Republicana believes the “Deal of the Century” endorsed by the Trump administration and the Benjamin Netanyahu government, which ignores the Palestinian authorities, goes against international law. As Secretary for International Affairs Jordi Solé has stated, “it is imperative real negotiations are opened between the parties resulting in the end of the Israeli occupation.” In this regard, Mr Solé said that “the solution is necessarily the mutual recognition of two states in accordance with the resolutions of the United Nations.” That is why under the current conditions, “we understand that the agreement as a whole is unacceptable for the Palestinian people. However, we urge the Palestinian authorities to continue to stake on dialogue” he concluded.

Esquerra thus considers a genuine peace deal would need to be made up of a number of factors, including:

1. The urgent de-escalation of the conflict.
2. The opening of an effective negotiation between the Palestinian and Israeli authorities that enables agreed resolution between the parties.
3. A more proactive intervention by the European Union in favour of peace and human rights, opening the door to international mediation.
4. Respect for the duty to fulfil international law, particularly UN Security Council Resolution 242 (1967) and Resolution 2334 (2016), which refer to the recognition of two states according to the borders prior to 1967, and rejecting the legitimacy of Israeli occupations after that date.
5. Israeli compliance with international humanitarian law, guaranteeing the protection and the basic rights of the Palestinian population within the occupied territories.
6. Making every effort possible for the return of more than 5.5 million Palestinian refugees harboured in camps administered by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, the West Bank and Gaza.