Palestine, Jordan To Have Free Trade Zone Under Trump's Mideast Peace Plan - Document

Palestine, Jordan to Have Free Trade Zone Under Trump's Mideast Peace Plan - Document

Palestine and Jordan will have a free-trade zone under the US plan for peace in the Middle East and the United States will negotiate a trade deal with the Palestinians, the document revealed

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th January, 2020) Palestine and Jordan will have a free-trade zone under the US plan for peace in the Middle East and the United States will negotiate a trade deal with the Palestinians, the document revealed.

"Subject to the agreement of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, a free-trade zone between the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the State of Palestine will be established to expedite economic cooperation between the two countries," the plan said on Tuesday. "The location and size of the free-trade zone will be agreed upon by the parties so that the free trade zone will not interfere with current land use in the area and necessary security requirements. Goods from the free trade zone will be exported using an airport located in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan."

US President Donald Trump unveiled his Middle East peace plan earlier in the day, declaring it a "win-win" opportunity for both Israel and the Palestinians.

"The United States will continue to provide duty-free treatment to goods coming from all areas that enjoy such treatment today, and will negotiate a free trade agreement with the State of Palestine," the plan said. "The United States hopes that countries in Europe, the Middle East and elsewhere will also pursue free trade agreements with the State of Palestine."

According to Trump, who revealed the plan Tuesday, the Palestinians would be able to have a state of their own with a capital in Eastern Jerusalem. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the plan called for demilitarized Gaza Strip and disarmed Hamas.

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, who heads Ramallah-based Palestinian National Authority controlled by Fatah, said, shortly after the US plan was presented, that Fatah would soon begin a new round of intra-Palestinian talks.

Abbas said the Palestinian people will send Trump's "deal of the century" to the "garbage can" of history. Abbas said. Abbas said the United States would eventually have to recognize Palestine within the 1967 borders, as opposed to allowing Israel to keep its settlements on the West Bank.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres remains committed to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the basis of UN resolutions, the two-state solution and the pre-1967 lines, his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement on Tuesday after Trump unveiled his own proposal for achieving peace between the two sides.

Dujarric also said that the UN position on the two-state solution is defined by relevant Security Council and General Assembly resolutions to which the Secretariat will adhere.

Trump's so-called "deal of the century" would see a Palestinian state created in parts of the West Bank, occupied in 1967, but would let Israel keep most of its illegal settlements.

The United Nations does not recognize Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.