Although many are calling it an “unlikely” source for a peace plan between Israel and the Palestinians coming at an unlikely time with the Palestinian leadership having disqualified the United States following President Trump’s Jerusalem declaration, Beijing is nevertheless trying to take its shot as the next interlocutor in concert with high-level – albeit unofficial — Israeli and Palestinian delegations. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is at the helm of the so-called “Beijing Initiative,” while representing Jerusalem is legislator Hilik Bar, who holds the title of deputy speaker of the parliament and is a Labor Party official. Long-time Palestinian leader Nabil Sha’ath and Ahmed Majdalani are representing the Palestinians. Although Bar attempted to be deferential to Washington, saying the intent is to complement rather than supplant the Americans, the assemblage represents a new delivery package for a tried-but-until-now unsuccessful formula. The Trump plan that is being refined and prepared for submission, on the other hand, represents a new and untried approach that includes significant influence from the Arab world, led by Saudi Arabia. The effort to see a non-binding position paper created by a bilateral team with no official ability or authorization is reminiscent of the 1993 Oslo Accords which, once launched, were adopted by the government of then-prime minister Yitzhak Rabin and created the Palestinian Authority. Nevertheless, although the face of the conflict was strongly influenced by the Accords, the sought-after peace failed, many surmising because it left too many intractable issues unattended to. One such issue was hinted at by Foreign Minister Yi when he spoke of Jerusalem’s importance to Jews, Muslims and Christians in terms that amounted to a call for the city’s internationalization, a red-line for many Israelis. The new initiative also reprises calls for a “two-state solution” critics of the Trump effort charge are both absent from and irreplaceable in the administration’s plan despite the vagueness of consensus on what exactly that means. Yi was also specific in his shout-out to the 2002 Arab Initiative as the resource to draw from. The Yi-Bar effort kicks-off with fortuitous timing, coming after the Trump Jerusalem declaration which has been adopted by the Palestinians as casus belli to sever ties with Washington despite assessments by experts who opine the statement costs the Palestinian cause nothing that has not long been accepted. On Friday, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas put his coal in the Christian stocking in the form of a letter asserting that “we will not accept the U.S. as the mediator in the peace process nor are we going to accept any plan from the U.S. side.” But on the other side of the tree, some pundits believe the new configuration of peace-makers could – albeit as a long-shot – provide the cover for Abbas to continue the process.