Former ambassador who saw early version of the peace plan: Trump will not do anything that the Israelis and the Palestinians don’t want.
Arutz Sheva Staff, 27/01/20 01:09
Former US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, on Sunday gave an interview to Yonit Levi of Channel 12 News in which she commented on the Trump administration’s “Deal of the Century” which is expected to be unveiled this week.
“It takes two hands to make a clap, so if the Palestinians – or the Israelis – are not there, it’s not going to happen,” she explained. “I saw the earlier version of the peace plan, and it is well-planned, it’s well thought out.”
“It does not compromise on national security for Israel, it improves the quality of life for Palestinians – but overall, it allows an opportunity for peace. And that’s what both sides deserve.”
Haley stressed that the United States will not impose the plan on either side, saying, “I hope both parties give this agreement the opportunity it needs. The one thing I know is that President Trump will not do anything that the Israelis and the Palestinians don’t want. The US is coming in as a broker, they’re not coming in to mandate anything. I have a lot of hope that this can really mean longer peace going forward, but we will have to see.”
The former ambassador also commented on the criticism which claims that the timing of the publication of the plan is intended to serve Netanyahu politically. “They have worked on this plan for so long. They were thoughtful in their approach. They took their time. They made sure they talk to everyone to make sure all the bases are covered. So it doesn’t matter when the plan would roll out, there would be some people who are saying it would be too soon – or too late. And so you can’t win in that situation. Their thought process wasn’t ‘let’s wait till after the elections’ because Israel’s now going on their third election, so it’s not like we could sit there and wait for those elections to stop. We had to get the plan out while we had time to do that.”
Haley also spoke of the work she did for Israel while she was UN ambassador and said, “The goal was when we came in was ‘how do we change the culture?’ And what we can say is the session on the Middle East is no longer an Israel bashing session. It now talks more about the region. We were able to get rid of the UN commander in Lebanon, who was not being helpful to Israel. We were able to get out of the Iran deal, we were able to move the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. There were a lot of really good things that changed the tide. It is up to everyone to continue to do their part to make sure that tide continues to move in the right direction.”
“I didn’t know a lot about Israel when I came to the UN,” she acknowledged. “I always say I stumbled upon my love for Israel. But the more I learned, the more I loved, and I think it’s because I feel a kinship with the Jewish people.”
“The Jews think very similarly to the Indian community,” she explained. “The education and the family, and just the way of life is similar. They raise their children the same way, we are stubborn and we don’t take no for an answer. So there is so much that is there, but I just appreciate the values, I appreciate the love of freedom. I appreciate the desire to just want to be treated fairly.”
The former ambassador also commented on the rumors in the US that she plans to run for president in the 2024 election.
“It’s just too soon to think about,” Haley said. “I think it’s easy for people to talk about it, but it’s hard to run for President of the United States. A year is a lifetime in politics, so what I have always done is take it a year at a time. If it’s meant to be, it will, but as of now I continue to stay busy, I continue to fight for causes I care about, and I continue to be loud so I’m not going anywhere.”