Trump and Abbas talk in Bethlehem
US leader says he will do everything he can for peace
JERUSALEM // US president Donald Trump yesterday said he would do everything he could to achieve peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Mr Trump made the comments after meeting Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem on the second day of his visit.
He passed through Israel’s separation barrier – which surrounds Bethlehem on three sides – to enter the city in the occupied West Bank.
On the other side he was greeted by a large sign bearing photos of Mr Trump and Mr Abbas, and US and Palestinian flags.
“The city of peace welcomes the man of peace,” it read.
After talks with Mr Abbas, Mr Trump said: “Peace is a choice we must make each day, and the US is here to help make that dream possible for young Jewish, Christian and Muslim children across the region.
“In this spirit of hope, we come to Bethlehem, asking God for a more peaceful, safe and more tolerant world for all.”
But 20 kilometres away in the West Bank city of Hebron, Palestinian activists showed they had little faith in Mr Trump.
At a protest by the Youth Against Settlements group, 40 American and Palestinian activists gathered at an Israeli checkpoint and held up a sign with a photo of people stepping on a poster of Mr Trump’s face. “Hope you know what we think of you, Mr President,” it said. Mr Trump said he was assured that Mr Abbas and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu would work towards the goal of peace “in good faith”, later repeating that Palestinians were ready to “reach for peace”.
But he was scant on details about what a peace agreement would entail.
Notably, he did not speak of an independent Palestinian state next to Israel, but instead talked about improving the Palestinian economy and strengthening counter-terrorism efforts – a possible reference to Israeli and Palestinian security coordination.
Such coordination is controversial among Palestinians who consider it as protecting Israelis at their own expense. Mr Trump sounded much like previous US leaders who considered bolstering the Palestinian economy and joint security with Israel a key part of the peace process, but failed to bring about lasting settlement, said Khalil Shaheen, an analyst with the Palestinian think tank Masarat.
The US president later visited Yad Vashem, Israel’s national Holocaust memorial, and the Israel Museum where he spoke in defence of Israel.
He again touched on the IsraeliPalestinian conflict, saying he was “personally committed” to helping the two sides reach a deal. Mr Abbas told Mr Trump that Palestinians were “committed to working with you to reach a historic peace deal”, and detailed Palestinian aspirations to build an independent state on the 1967 borders with a capital in East Jerusalem.
He said Palestinians did not oppose Jews, but rather Israeli policies of “occupation and settlements”. But he stopped short of placing demands on Israel.
This omission was likely tactical, said Mr Shaheen, adding that the Palestinian president wanted to appear flexible at this early stage of possible peace negotiations.
“He doesn’t want to be responsible for any failure of the new administration,” Mr Shaheen said. “He wants to throw the ball to Netanyahu and let Netanyahu refuse.”
Mr Netanyahu voiced support for a two- state solution in his famous 2009 speech at Bar Ilan University, but in recent years has distanced himself from it and made clear he did not believe the time was ripe for a deal.
Mr Abbas’s reluctance to make firm demands at this stage might also indicate that he is realistic about what he can expect from the White House.
Mr Trump has said Israeli settlement construction in the occupied territory “may not be helpful” to Israeli- Palestinian peace but has never called for an outright freeze on building in the occupied West Bank.
“I think he understood in his meeting with Trump in the White House that Trump won’t support freezing settlement construction like the previous administration did,” said Mr Shaheen.
He said that most of all, Mr Abbas’s willingness to engage in talks constituted “survival policy” for the leader, who had lost the trust of many Palestinians for his ineffectiveness in confronting the Israeli occupation. The peace process makes the Palestinian president look like he is taking action, which will boost his legitimacy among his own people, said Mr Shaheen.