Washington is crystallizing a plan with the participation of some Arab countries that stipulates a permanent peace between Israel and the Palestinians and the declaration of a Palestinian state within weeks, according to a report published by the American newspaper The Washington Post.

This morning, the Washington Post reported on a plan that the Biden administration is formulating with a small group of Arab countries, which includes “the completion of a detailed and comprehensive plan for long-term peace between Israel and the Palestinians, including a solid timetable for peace and the establishment of a Palestinian state.” The American newspaper reported that according to the plan, the state that will be created is expected to be announced “in the coming weeks.”

Efforts to complete the plan are linked to the proposed truce and the release of the abductees, provided that a six-week ceasefire allows the declaration of the state openly, mobilizing support and taking additional steps to implement this declaration, including the formation of an interim Palestinian government.

An American source said that reaching an agreement to release the hostages is the key to the plan, but while Washington and the Arab countries are working to promote it, there are fears that an Israeli attack in Rafah will abort efforts to release the hostages and future efforts for peace.

The American newspaper also wrote that the obstacle in such a plan is Israel, and the question of whether the government will agree to a large part of the matters it is discussing, which include, among other things, withdrawal from settlements in the West Bank, the establishment of a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem, and the reconstruction of Gaza and integrated security arrangements for the administration of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

These countries hope that Israel will also receive in-kind security guarantees and normalization with Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries, which Israel will find difficult to refuse.

After the report was published, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said: “We will not agree in any way to this plan, which in fact says that the Palestinians deserve a reward for the terrible massacre they committed against us: a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. I will demand today at the Ministerial Council meeting “The security policy has decided to take a clear and unambiguous decision stating that Israel opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state and to impose sanctions on more than half a million settlers.”