Palestinians ‘won’t be blackmailed by Trump’

PALESTINIAN leaders said yesterday they would not be blackmailed after US President Donald Trump threatened to cut aid worth more than $300-million (R3.7-billion) annually, his latest provocative move that could upturn years of careful diplomacy.

Relations between the White House and the Palestinians were already tense after Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital last month.

The December 6 announcement concerning the disputed city led Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas to say the US could no longer play any role in the Middle East peace process.

Trump’s threat in a tweet on Tuesday to try to force the Palestinians into negotiations led to further outrage, though Israeli ministers lauded the move.

The Palestinians rely heavily on international aid, with many analysts, including Israelis, saying such assistance helps maintain stability in a volatile region.

“We pay the Palestinians HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS a year and get no appreciation or respect,” Trump tweeted.

“With the Palestinians no longer willing to talk peace, why should we make any of these massive future payments to them?”

It was not immediately clear whether Trump was threatening all of the budget, worth $319-million (R3.9-billion) in 2016, according to US government figures.

The United States has long provided the Palestinian Authority with muchneeded budgetary support and security assistance, as well as an additional $304 million (R3.7-billion) for UN programmes in the West Bank and Gaza. Israel receives more than $3-billion (R37-billion) in military aid a year from Washington.

Abbas’s spokesman said they were not against negotiations, but talks should be “based on international laws and resolutions that have recognised an independent Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital”.

“Jerusalem is the eternal capital of the state of Palestine and it is not for sale for gold or billions,” Nabil Abu Rudeina said.

Senior Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi said that they would not be blackmailed.

“President Trump has sabotaged our search for peace, freedom and justice,” she said.

“Now he dares to blame the Palestinians for the consequences of his own irresponsible actions!”

However, several Israeli ministers voiced support for Trump, with the country’s right-wing government having seized on his support to push ahead with initiatives seen as dealing further blows to remaining hopes for a two-state solution.

Culture and Sport Minister Miri Regev, from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, said “you cannot on the one hand receive $300million in American aid per year and at the same time close the door on negotiations”.

“We are dealing with a president who says what he thinks clearly and does not resort to diplomatic convolutions that mean nothing,” he said.

Trump came to office boasting that he could achieve the ultimate deal that secured peace in the Middle East, something that has eluded presidents since the late 1960s.

For most of the past half century, the US has been seen as the indispensable arbiter of the peace process. –

Why should we make any of these massive . . . payments to them?