Trump may exit peace talks after tense meeting
Official says Abbas is furious at American demands following meeting with Kushner
US President Donald Trump may pull out of Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations following a “tense” meeting with White House senior staff and officials in Ramallah.
The London-based Arabic daily Al-Hayat reported Saturday said Trump will make a decision on the future of the peace talks soon, which may be to withdraw completely from the process.
The report came just days after a meeting between Trump’s senior adviser Jared Kushner and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, which was described as “tense” by an Abbas adviser present at the talks.
Abbas was supposedly furious with the president’s son-in-law after Kushner relayed Israeli demands to the 82-year-old Palestinian leader, which included the immediate halt of payments to terrorists and their families.
Abbas angrily accused Kushner and Trump’s lead international negotiator, Jason Greenblatt, of taking Israel’s side and refused to commit to the request.
The report said the Trump administration was equally upset with Abbas after he failed to denounce the latest stabbing attack in Jerusalem, which saw a terrorist kill 23-year-old St.Sgt.-Maj. Hadas Malka two weeks ago. Ties were further strained after Abbas reportedly refused to meet American ambassador to Israel David Friedman.
The Palestinian official also told the paper that the Americans demanded Palestinian officials curb inflammatory statements regarding Israel.
“[Kushner] will submit his report to the president and, after it is submitted, Trump will decide if there’s a chance for negotiations or it might be preferable to pull out peace talks,” the official said.
Abbas said Israel is using the issue of payments to terrorists and their families as a pretext to avoid entering peace talks, saying the payments are a part of the Palestinian government’s “social responsibility.”