On the 12^th of February 2018, the council held a panel discussion on the “Future of the Middle East Peace Process, in light of the Trump Declaration of Jerusalem as the Capital of Israel”, with the participation of the Chair of the Council and a number of its members.

The meeting dealt with the American administration’s policy towards the peace process, and President Trump’s talk about what he called the “deal of the century”, until his declaration of recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, which complicated the situation and increased the series of measures taken by the American administration to pressure the Palestinians to force them to negotiate, and the discussions reached the following points in particular:

• The need for Arab States to consider alternatives to the formula of peace talks of the past decades, in which the United States has played a pivotal role. Some have argued that US mediation is inevitable and that no other force will be able to fill this void. The United States is a mediator in the peace process between Israel and Egypt and Jordan, Rabin’s deposit with Syria in 1994-1995 before his assassination, and Olmert’s 2007 depository. Even the Madrid negotiations of 1991 were under the threat of the United States. So all these treaties and initiatives included America as a mediator.

• America can be amongst other parties in the mediation for peace.

• Resort to the United Nations as the Palestinian issue has been dealt with in the scene and the issuance of dozens of resolutions, both from the Security Council or the General Assembly, and is expected to be resisted by the United States.

• That the peace process in the region should also include occupied Syrian territory in the Golan and the Lebanese territories still under occupation in the Shab’a Farms and Kafr Shuba.

• For the Quartet, it is proposed to be five-nation annexation of China to encourage it to engage in the peace process in light of its four-point initiative introduced last July. The foreign minister can brief the Chinese side on this matter before the idea is officially put forward.

• The need for coordination and close cooperation with countries that have shown sympathy for the Palestinian position since the declaration of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, because it is important to build on these positive indicators. There should also be an Arab delegation visiting these countries and affirming their appreciation to these countries and continued cooperation with them.