I don’t have a clue who Megatron_ron is, but he seems generally well informed. I’ll get to his ideas on the peace plan, but first this excerpt from M. K. Bhadrakumar, which presents a fair idea of where things stand in Palestine, but also in the broader region. This is the view of a highly experienced diplomat from one of the two most important non-Western nations:
Blinken’s window dressing tour of Arab capitals
The pattern of Israeli behaviour [the provocative assassinations, ratcheting up tensions] needs to be understood from different angles. This is an incredibly complicated matrix. First and foremost, the Israeli operation in Gaza so far has been a failure. It turned the world opinion, especially in the Global South, heavily against Israel — South Africa’s petition to the International Criminal Court over war crimes in Gaza being the most telling evidence of it — while Israeli military came a cropper in terms of its agenda to decimate Hamas.
Tel Aviv has reached none of its stated goals in the Gaza war, which are annihilation of Hamas or disarming of Hamas and release of captives held by Palestinians in Gaza. That brings the security and military establishment in Tel Aviv, whose reputation has been seriously dented following the October 7 attack, under immense pressure. On the other hand, there has been a cover-up of the heavy casualty suffered by Israeli troops in the Gaza operation. The Kerman terrorist attack and the killing of Saleh al-Arouri actually betray a high level of frustration.
In political terms, there is a convergence between the security and military establishment and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (whose political future hangs by a thread) and the ultra-rightist fascist forces aligned with him, whose interests lie in an extended war.
The only external force capable of pressuring Israel is of course the US administration. But it is too much to expect President Biden to draw the ‘red line’ to Israel — that is, even assuming that he has the political will to do so — given the Israel Lobby’s control of the Congress and its seamless capacity for making or destroying the careers of US politicians.
Washington has not changed the intensity of Israeli military operation. On the other hand, the US has shipped to Israel 10,000 tons of arms to Israel in the recent period alone. In fact, it cannot be a coincidence that every single Blinken visit to the region since October 7 has witnessed a particularly brutal Israeli attack to up the ante. In effect, the US is broadly in support of the Israeli policy and a commitment to the destruction of Hamas, in particular.
Therefore, Biden’s interest narrows down to prevent the war from spreading in the region lest direct American military intervention becomes necessary. The US rhetoric and diplomatic posturing largely aims at damage control in Washington’s relations with its erstwhile allies in the region. Quintessentially, Blinken’s mission comes down cheap window dressing — viz., to bringing the regional states to the same page that Israel is facing an existential crisis. But it does not take into account that the region has changed radically.
What truly distinguishes the present crisis is that the Arab world is profoundly concerned and feels outraged by the barbaric Israeli behaviour toward hapless Palestinians — ‘animals,’ as Israeli politicians have described them. The Arab psyche is convinced that an enduring final settlement of the Palestine problem cannot be postponed indefinitely. Something has fundamentally changed even for Saudi Arabia which had clandestine dealings with Israel for decades and was inching toward establishing formal relations with it.
This is like a Humpty Dumpty venture—no way to put it all together again. But according to Megatron_ron that’s exactly what the US is playing at:
Megatron @Megatron_ron
NEW:
⚡ 🇺🇸🇮🇱🇸🇦 Biden wants Saudi Arabia to resume talks on recognizing Israel
Foreign policy:
"Riyadh's recognition of Israel is being considered in exchange for Tel Aviv's restraint in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank and a promise to take Palestinian interests into account."
Who pays for the Brooklyn Bridge? Or, who thinks the Israeli’s will respect Gaza and the West Bank in the morning? And who will get Zhou his double scoop?
Megatron:
I already wrote that the US attempt is to sell off Gaza in exchange for a truce, that is, for Israel to withdraw from Gaza and the West Bank, but for Saudi Arabia and the UAE to take control, which are more pro-Israel in the conflict.
This will keep Iran away from Israel as in the case of Jordan.
The main goal is to stop a major war in which American statesmen have already announced that Israel has no chance of winning, and Iran and Hezbollah have refused a truce.
The problem for the US is not the defeat of Israel itself but how to convince the population [i.e., the American people] when they get directly involved in the war with boots on the ground.
Reports are already coming in from the US that Blinken is in the Middle East in his last ditch effort to prevent a major war. He literally walks around and constantly calls for a 'ceasefire' with Hezbollah, declaring it publicly at press conferences.
http://t.me/megatron_ron
3:43 AM · Jan 9, 2024
Israel is not going to give up their illegal occupation of the West Bank. They’ll fight that to the last American. Thus, Blinken simply has nothing to offer to the Arabs. The whole plan looks totally goofy, and yet I think Megatron_ron may be on to something. This may simply be a ploy to sell war to gullible Americans.
Looks like the 'peace plan' is kaput, judging from the UAE reaction--which was pretty clever and funny:
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/uae-president-tells-netanyahu-ask-zelensky-money
During a phone call with MbZ a few weeks ago, Netanyahu "broadly asked for help in regards to the Palestinians," the sources tell Axios. However, the conversation turned sour once the Israeli premier "specifically asked if the UAE would be willing to pay the Palestinian workers," leaving the UAE leader "stunned."
"MbZ told Netanyahu he couldn't do it, and then sarcastically suggested the Israeli prime minister turn to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky instead," the sources said, adding that the Emirati leader remarked that "Zelensky gets a lot of money from many countries, so maybe he would be able to help."
"The notion that Arab countries will come in to rebuild and pay the bill for what's currently happening is wishful thinking," an Emirati official told Axios.
In mid-December, Netanyahu reportedly told Knesset officials that Saudi Arabia and the UAE would foot the bill to rebuild Gaza.
"The first step in Gaza will be to defeat Hamas. After that, I believe that the UAE and Saudi Arabia will support the rehabilitation of the Strip," Netanyahu said during a closed-door testimony to the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
Remarkable.
UAE normalized relations with Israel. Netanyahu asked UAE to pay Palestinian workers Israel kicked out > Oct 7.
MBZ, leader of UAE said 'Ask Zelensky.'
# of ME countries friendly to Israel dwindling.
Blinken can't see 'forest for trees.'
https://t.co/rhVQYpjMHK
— Dr Nazreen Kadir (@lettywho1) January 8, 2024
This video was extracted from a Max Blumenthal tweet on X:
https://twitter.com/i/status/1740105536249499791
So much propaganda, disinformation, lies and deceit.