ABSTRACT
President Donald Trump’s long-awaited Middle East peace plan was unveiled on 28 January 2020. Some observers have suggested that the Trump vision is less a plan for peace than a unilateral statement of the terms for Palestinian surrender: Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel, no refugee return and Israel’s annexation of the Jordan valley and all West Bank settlements in exchange for an “archipelago” state and the promise of a $50 billion investment fund. This policy commentary assesses what the Trump plan means for the peace process launched in Madrid in 1991. It reviews the evolution of the Madrid/Oslo process with particular emphasis on the underlying principles the Trump plan appears to contradict. It examines Canada’s role in the process, assesses Ottawa’s initial response to the Trump plan in terms of long-standing Canadian policy and outlines ways in which Canada could influence the debate going forward.
