What do Palestinians want?

Palestinians understand “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”.

The Trump administration’s plan to advance Middle East peace is failing in broad daylight. This latest round of American diplomatic bullying has not budged the Palestinians’ call for freedom and independence. Actually, Trump’s actions are turning out to be a rallying call to reunite a fragmented Palestinian polity around their core struggle.

Another U.S. failure in the Middle East is no surprise to anyone following the details. Analyzing the multiple recent interviews given by Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in law and architect of the plan, the parameters of its substance are coming into focus. At best, Kushner evidently desires to beautify the cages that Israel has created in every Palestinian city and village. This is not a peace process, it is “Trump Attempting Financial Molestation of Palestinians,” as I recently wrote.

The obsessive tweets by Jason Greenblatt, the Assistant to President Trump and his Special Representative for International Negotiations, shed additional light on the matter — illegal Israeli settlements are here to stay, and Palestinians must get over it.

Last month Kushner announced that an “economic workshop” would be held in Bahrain at the end of June to reveal the economic part of the plan. The invitation was issued by U.S. Treasury…