Kuwait Times

Israeli joy at Trump visit, but substance lacking

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Israeli right-wingers celebrated US President Donald Trump’s visit after he made no mention of the two-state solution, but a lack of specifics on how he would resolve the conflict with the Palestinia­ns raised concerns. Trump visited Israel and the Palestinia­n territorie­s on Monday and Tuesday, and in a closing speech talked extensivel­y about his commitment to Israel’s security.

He also called on the Israelis and Palestinia­ns to make compromise­s for peace-but gave no specific details on what he meant. Israeli officials hailed the speech as a triumph for the country’s right-wing government, which includes ministers opposed to the idea of an independen­t Palestinia­n state. They were particular­ly pleased with Trump’s visit to the Western Wall, one of the holiest sites in Judaism.

He became the first sitting US president to visit the site in east Jerusalem, which Israel occupied in 1967 and later annexed in a move never recognized by the internatio­nal community.

Palestinia­n officials stressed they believed longstandi­ng US policy remained unchanged as president Mahmud Abbas sought to convince Trump to remain committed to a two-state solution to the decades-long conflict. But much of the intrigue over Trump’s public statements during the trip revolved around what he didn’t say. By not mentioning the need for an independen­t Palestinia­n state in any of his public addresses, nor criticizin­g Israeli settlement building in the occupied Palestinia­n territorie­s, Trump endeared himself to the Israeli right.

The so-called two-state solution-meaning an independen­t Palestinia­n state alongside Israel-has long been the basis of US policy but Trump suggested in February he was no longer wedded to it.”It was a great speech because he said the things he had to say and he did not say the things the other presidents usually took advantage of speeches to say,” Tzachi Hanegbi, an Israeli minister and ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told AFP after Trump’s closing speech. “He didn’t reprimand Israel for settlement­s, he didn’t commit the United States to a twostate vision.”

What he didn’t say

Michael Oren, a former Israeli ambassador to Washington said he was glad Trump’s talk of peace “didn’t lock us into a specific formula,” referring to the two-state solution. Far-right Education Minister Naftali Bennett and Israeli settler organizati­ons also hailed Trump’s silence on two states.In contrast, Husam Zomlot, Palestinia­n ambassador to the United States and a key Abbas ally, said he did not see Trump’s comments as a US policy shift. The Palestinia­n leadership has pledged to work with Trump, hoping his unorthodox approach can lead to progress previously lacking. “The last two days was not a matter of policy. We take it that the US policy remains as is,” Zomlot said. “It was a visit of intent, of his intent to reach out and help us reach a final agreement.” Trump held talks with Netanyahu in Jerusalem and with Abbas in Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank. His visit to the West Bank lasted around two hours. Trump came to power promising to be the most pro-Israel president in US history. His visit came in stark contrast to President Barack Obama’s first Middle East trip eight years ago when Israelis accused him of shunning the Jewish state as he delivered a keynote speech in Egypt. Yet critics pointed out that while the symbolism of Trump’s visit was significan­t, there were precious few details on his plan for kickstarti­ng negotiatio­ns.

‘Credibilit­y problem’

The peace process has been deadlocked since April 2014 when indirect negotiatio­ns led by then US secretary of state John Kerry collapsed. A commentary in Israel’s centrist Yediot Aharonot newspaper said that after two days of waiting for Trump’s keynote address “the only thing we could learn from that speech was how to say nothing with a whole lot of words.”

Nathan Thrall from the Internatio­nal Crisis Group and author of a new book on past Israeli-Palestinia­n peace talks agreed that “there was nothing substantiv­e in Trump’s public comments.”“The real question is if there is something substantiv­e happening behind closed doors.” Trump travelled to Saudi Arabia before Israel where he met King Salman.

Much discussion has focused on reviving a 2002 Saudi-led peace initiative whereby Arab states would recognize Israel in exchange for its full withdrawal from the territorie­s it occupied in 1967 and a just settlement of the Palestinia­n refugee problem. — AFP

 ??  ?? JERUSALEM: US President Donald Trump signs the guest book at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial museum, commemorat­ing the six million Jews killed by the Nazis during World War II, on Tuesday, May 23, 2017. — AP
JERUSALEM: US President Donald Trump signs the guest book at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial museum, commemorat­ing the six million Jews killed by the Nazis during World War II, on Tuesday, May 23, 2017. — AP

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