It was a jubilant occasion in the White House. A celebration of a three-year plan hatched by a glib novice whose rise to power came through brazen nepotism. The guests in the room included administration heavyweights like the Secretary of State and an assortment of donors from the mogul of gambling to cheering supporters of Trump and Netanyahu.

The ceremony was cannily similar to a shotgun wedding designed to force a marriage agreement between Israelis and Palestinians. The illogical/logic of this strange moment was that the two peoples were already in cohabitation and it was time to make it legal. Shotgun marriages, as we know are oblivious to the suffering they inflict. Similarly in most discussions of political conflicts, suffering has mostly been ignored. Not surprisingly, on that fateful day in the White House political power was in full force since those holding the shotgun were no other than the president of the United States and his son-in-law who claimed to have written the marriage agreement of the century.

The prime minister of Israel was visibly eager and ready to sign and recite, “I do.” In his enthusiasm and the loud cheering of his supporters, he failed to see ominous pitfalls. There was the glaring problem that the Palestinian leader who had to say the other, “I do,” was not there. The host and the guests were determined to overlook this gaping absence to insist that just one side, the more powerful one had to sign on. Netanyahu was blinded by his fixation on his long desire of annexation.

On our TV screens both leaders looked grim and tense not least because they were not under the holy canopy of truth and peace; both were under the thick cloud of impeachment and criminal charges, respectively. Trump, who does not like losers, did not seem to happy to be seen with Netanyahu who has so far failed to forge a government and was facing yet another election.

Netanyahu delivering a speech on the historic exceptionality of the Kushner peace plan while looking in supplication at Trump. Gone was the prime minister who looked down on President Obama, who arrogantly insulted Obama when he addressed Congress to the cheering of Republican senators, the future Trump fixers.

Trump it seemed was no longer thrilled to be linked to what he considered a weakened prime minister. The proof came from the mouth of Jarred Kushner who made it clear to Netanyahu that he was not allowed to take action on the plan. The implementation plan would happen only after the Israeli election on March 2 2020. A stunned prime minister began to see the rabbit hole into which he walked. While he focused on annexation of the West Bank he failed to see, or ignored the words “two-state solution” that Trump uttered and are etched in the deal.

In his own country Netanyahu’s allies, from settlers to Likud, regard the mere mention of a Palestinian state, however weakened and powerless, as Netanyahu’s fall from grace. They told the press, they felt betrayed by him. And so the deal of the century fell apart.

Clearly a meaningful peace plan in real life cannot give annexation rights to the powerful side, it cannot continue an occupation, and it cannot deny another people self-determination. Israel, the more powerful side of the cohabitation must negotiate a just two-state solution and put an end to the unbearable suffering.

Nothing remotely helpful would come from Trump and the likes of Jared and their corrupt and untrustworthy fixers. Israelis and Palestinians must find the courage to face the fact that neither side is going away. It is always the right moment to commit to a true peace solution of two states. Israeli elections on March 2 could open up such a moment.