Is Trump’s ‘Deal of the Century’ Just the Biggest Bribe in History?

• Is Trump’s ‘Deal of the Century’ Just the Biggest Bribe in History?
  by David Rosenberg, https://www.haaretz.com/
  Whatever it is, the Kushner plan to invest billions in the West Bank and Gaza is doomed to failure.
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  After two years of waiting for Trump’s Deal of the Century, it now appears that what the U.S. president and Jared Kushner have in mind is more like the Bribe of the Century. As The New York Times reported on Wednesday, the heart of the plan is showering tens of billions on economic aid on the Palestinians, as well as on Egypt, Jordan and possibly even Lebanon. How many billions we’ll only know after Israel’s elections, when the plan is unveiled, but the Times quotes sources as saying the Palestinians alone will get $25 billion and the others as much as $40 billion.
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  On the rise of a future Palestinian state, Kushner remained vague. In an interview with Sky News on Wednesday, he declined to relate to that issue directly but implied that things like national borders were a frippery. This is a little odd considering that his father-in-law and boss is a big fan of borders and walls.–
  Anyway, this is what Kushner said: “The political plan, which is very detailed, is really about establishing borders and resolving final status issues. The goal of resolving these borders is really to eliminate the borders. If you can eliminate borders and have peace and less fear of terror, you could have freer flow of goods, freer flow of people and that would create a lot more opportunities.”
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  You might dismiss the deal as nothing more than a cynical quid pro quo: The Palestinians will give up their demand for a full-fledged state in exchange for spectacular amounts of aid. But, as Bibi may soon be telling a judge, accepting gifts from a rich friend doesn’t have to be a bribe.
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