Conflict a core regional issue, Abdullah tells Trump
WASHINGTON – The US is “working very hard” to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, President Donald Trump told King Abdullah II of Jordan at the White House on Wednesday, amid a flurry of diplomatic activity on the matter coordinated by the Trump administration. “I think we’ll be successful – I hope we’ll be successful, I’ll tell you that,” Trump told the press after topping their meetings with a discussion on the conflict.
Abdullah, who is in Washington for several days, praised Trump for engaging
the parties so early in his presidency. He characterized the Israeli-Palestinian struggle as “essentially the core conflict” in the region.
The two leaders held a joint press conference in the Rose Garden of the White House between their meetings, attended by Queen Rania and first lady Melania Trump.
Trump’s energetic efforts have reinvigorated the Arab Peace Initiative – a regional approach to the conflict that would create a sovereign state of Palestine while “accepting [Israel] in the neighborhood,” the king said.
Joining their meetings was Jason Greenblatt, the president’s senior adviser on international negotiations; Rex Tillerson, his secretary of state; and Jared Kushner, his senior adviser and son-in-law.
The Jordanian king met on Tuesday in Washington with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on the matter, who had in turn discussed the regional initiative with Trump at the White House one day prior.
On Monday, alongside Sisi, Trump referred to the conflict as the “problem of the century.” His aides say that brokering Israeli-Palestinian peace is a top prize for the new president.
Greenblatt has been shuttling around the region on a listening tour, hoping to build relationships and trust with regional players ahead of a major peace push. Israeli officials tell The Jerusalem Post that the Trump administration hopes to bring Israeli, Palestinian and Arab leaders – including of Gulf nations – onto the same stage in a major summit by the end of the summer. •