Diana Buttu on the Upcoming Israeli Elections

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: I guess, let me ask you what you think are the likelihood, first and foremost, of being able to come to the table under the, you know, long-awaited Jared Kushner peace plan.

DIANA BUTTU, FORMER LEGAL ADVISER, PALESTINE LIBERATION ORGANIZATION: Well, to begin with, I actually don’t think there really is a plan. I think what we’re seeing right now is the implementation of Trump’s wishes and Trump’s desires, which are in effect Netanyahu’s wishes and Netanyahu’s desires. We’ve seen everything from the declaration that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital, the movement of the embassy, paring down in terms of refugees, cutting off aid to Unrwa. We’ve seen that they’ve shut down the office of the PLO in the United States. And we’ve even seen that the United States is supporting the annexation of the Golan Heights. These are all items that are — have been on Israel’s wish list for quite some time. And what the Trump administration is doing is handing this over to the Netanyahu administration. So, I actually don’t see that we’re — that there’s anything that is going to be left for there to be any discussion about what has been done already.

AMANPOUR: Diana, I put this to the ambassador, but it’s really to put to you, do the Palestinians — does the leadership and the people believe that these two situations, the moving of the embassy to Jerusalem, the approval of Israel’s unilateral annexation of the Golan Heights despise international law, do you all feel that the next inevitable step will be the U.S. approving the annexation of parts of the West Bank, parts of Area C, as it’s known?

BUTTU: Most definitely. And we’ve already seen that since the Trump declaration that happened last week that a number of Israeli politicians have come forward and said that this is the next natural step. And in fact, have been bragging about how — what a great recognition this is and how the changing of international law is working in their favor. So, this is obviously a deep concern. But it shouldn’t just be of concern to Palestinians, this should be of concern to everybody around the world. This attempt to violate and to acknowledge or to make legal what is otherwise illegal is going down the path of changing the world’s order. Next thing we know that it will be allowed for Crimea to annexed, we will then see that settlements will be allowed to be legal. And what it does is that it changes international order, and this is why it’s so dangerous. And this is why Palestinians have been saying outright, this isn’t an honest broker, this is somebody who is in — is shoulder to shoulder, working with Israel, being President Trump.

AMANPOUR: Can I just read to that end one of the longtime experienced Arab negotiators was the former Jordanian foreign minister, Marwan Muasher, and he actually has recently told The Financial Times, “While no one in the Arab world expected the U.S. to be an honest broker, they still expected the U.S. to lead a process that would at least result in the end of the occupation and a viable Palestinian State. Now, all of that seems out of the door. The U.S. has lost all respect in the Arab world. Nobody in the Arab world is going to accept this, nobody.” I mean, that is quite strident from a quite mild-mannered experienced world diplomat. But is that what you’re feeling, not just from the Palestinians but from Arab neighbors as well?