Israel will hold new elections after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to form a coalition government in six weeks of negotiations following the April 9 election. This marks the first time in Israeli history a prime minister-designate has failed to form a coalition government. The news comes as the United States is continuing to promote a controversial Middle East peace plan drawn up by President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who is in Israel today along with special envoy Jason Greenblatt. But the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports that the political crisis in Israel could kill the U.S. plan, which will be partially unveiled at a conference in Bahrain next month. Palestinian officials have vowed to boycott the conference and dismissed any attempts to tackle peace talks in the region without addressing human rights and the Israeli occupation. We speak with longtime Palestinian diplomat Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s executive committee. The United States recently denied Ashrawi a visa to enter the country.
Over the past 50 years since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, there have been countless talks, negotiations and UN resolutions. And the Palestinian Liberation Organization has been at the forefront of peace talks over the years. But now, Donald Trump's administration says it will shut down the PLO's office in Washington D.C. That's in response to Palestinian efforts to raise the issue of Israel's occupation at the International Criminal Court.
If the U.S. goes ahead with its plans, Palestinians say they will end all communication with Washington. But what will this move mean for Trump's Middle East peace plan?
Presenter: Laura Kyle | Guests: Qais Abdel Karim - Member of the Palestine Liberation Organization, PLO; Hillary Mann Leverett - Former White House National Security and State department Official; Ian Black - Visiting Senior Fellow at the Middle East Centre, London School of Economics.
