Michael Oren: Every time Palestinians were offered peace they said ‘no’

Michael Oren told Fox News that the ‘Deal of the Century’ is “aimed at two customers:” the Israelis and the Sunni Arab world.

Former Israeli Ambassador to the United States and former MK and Deputy Minister for Diplomacy Michael Oren spoke to Fox News on Sunday ahead of US President Donald Trump meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White leader Benny Gantz. Both Israeli leaders are expected to speak with the president about his Middle East peace plan, the “Deal of the Century.”

— Michael Oren (@DrMichaelOren) January 26, 2020
“It’s a new day and this peace plan is aimed at really two customers, if you will. [It’s aimed at] the Israeli public and the moderate Arab Sunni world, specially the Gulf states, and so far, the reactions have been very good,” Oren told Fox News.

He said that the heads of Israel’s “major parties” are “engaged” in the process, referring to Gantz and Netanyahu’s respective meetings with Trump. Oren added, “in the Arab world this president, [the Trump] administration has a tremendous amount of street credit for its strong stance against Iran, pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal, very strong credit.”

With Israeli elections just over a month away, some have questioned the timing of Trump’s plan, but Oren insisted that “we can’t lose track and lose sight of the big picture,” which he defined as support in Israel, despite a rising political tensions as the country approaches its third election.

“You have a huge chunk of the Israeli public, even the radical right so far, saying that they’e very supportive of this peace initiative – that is unprecedented,’ Oren said. “Back in the 90s, during the Oslo years, during the Clinton years, this country was divided bitterly over the peace process, now we’re united around this peace process and this is a historic moment.”

When speaking to Fox News, Oren also praised the Trump administration as the “friendliest” since the establishment of the State of Israel. He commended the administration’s recognition of Jerusalem and the Golan heights, its pulling out of the nuclear deal with Iran and its assassination of IRGC commander Qasem Soleimani.

Oren also commented on the Palestinian response to the deal, saying that, “the Palestinians hold the world record for the people who have been offered peace, have been offered a two-state solution throughout history and every time have said ‘no.’ As a matter of fact, they don’t even have ‘yes’ in their vocabulary.”

The Palestinians have already rejected the peace plan and called for a “day of rage,” in which clashes with IDF soldiers and Israeli policemen will be initiated in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.