Trump in Israel to broker ‘ultimate peace deal’
JERUSALEM — US President Donald Trump arrived in Israel on Monday to seek ways to achieve Israeli-Palestinian peace, a goal that has eluded his predecessors but which he says could be easier than “people have thought.”
Mr. Trump spoke of a “rare opportunity” to bring stability to the region as he landed in Israel on Monday and hailed the “unbreakable bond” between the United States and Israel as he spoke at a brief ceremony at the airport in Tel Aviv after landing.
“On my first trip overseas as president, I have come to this sacred and ancient land to reaffirm the unbreakable bond between the United States and the state of Israel,” Mr. Trump said.
He said later: “We have before us a rare opportunity to bring security and stability and peace to this region and to its people, defeating terrorism and creating a future of harmony, prosperity and peace. But we can only get there working together. There is no other way.”
Mr. Trump’s visit is part of his first trip abroad as president and follows an initial stop in Saudi Arabia, where he urged Islamic leaders to confront extremism.
It also comes as he contends with a raft of problems back home, including a special counsel investigating whether his associates colluded with Russia.
Mr. Trump landed in Tel Aviv on Monday, welcomed by officials including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Ahead of talks with Mr. Netanyahu, Mr. Trump will tour two iconic sites in Jerusalem, a city holy to Muslims, Christians and Jews.
The first will be the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built at the site where Christians believe Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected.
Afterwards, he is expected to become the first sitting US president to visit the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray and located in east Jerusalem.
The Western Wall visit drew controversy before Mr. Trump even left Washington, when US off icials declined to say whether it belonged to Israel.
“Jerusalem was and will always be the capital of Israel,” Mr. Netanyahu said late Sunday, adding that the Western Wall “will always remain under Israeli sovereignty.”
The status of Jerusalem is ultra- sensitive and has been among the most difficult issues in Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
Israel occupied east Jerusalem and the West Bank in 1967 in moves never recognized by the international community.
It later annexed east Jerusalem and claims the entire city as its capital. The Palestinians see east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.
ENORMOUS CHALLENGE
Any leader would face an enormous challenge in seeking to bring the Israelis and Palestinians together for meaningful talks, and Mr. Trump’s inexperience and domestic political struggles will only add to it.
He has spoken of his self-described deal-making prowess in declaring that the “ultimate deal” is possible, vowing “we will get it done.”
“It is something that I think is frankly maybe not as difficult as people have thought over the years,” Trump said when meeting Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Washington earlier this month.
Mr. Trump has sent mixed signals about how he will approach the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
At a meeting with Mr. Netanyahu in February, he said he would support a single state if it led to peace, delighting Israeli right-wingers who want to see most of the West Bank annexed.
At the same time, he urged Israel to hold back on settlement building in the West Bank, a longstanding concern of Palestinians and much of the world.
Mr. Trump advocated during his campaign breaking with decades of precedent and moving the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, deeply alarming Palestinians.
He has since said the move was still being looked at.
Mr. Trump’s seeming openness to at least some of Mr. Abbas’ concerns has given Palestinians more reason for hope than many may have expected, but still reason to remain wary, some analysts say.
On the Israeli side, Mr. Netanyahu heads what is seen as the most right-wing government in the country’s history, and members of his coalition were elated with Mr. Trump’s election.
Some even called for an end to the idea of a Palestinian state.
Mr. Trump’s actions since have left them disappointed, with the embassy remaining in Tel Aviv — at least for now — and the White House seeking to restart peace efforts.
However, the United States remains Israel’s most important ally, providing it with more than $3 billion in defense aid annually.
After Israel and the Palestinian territories, Mr. Trump will head to the Vatican along with Brussels and Italy for NATO and G7 meetings.