AT DAVOS, Trump threatens to pull aid to Palestinians.
DAVOS, Switzerland — President Donald Trump threatened Thursday to withhold aid money from the Palestinians if they don’t engage in peace talks with Israel and insisted that any talk of U.S.-U.K. tension is a “false rumor.”
In a meeting on the sidelines of a global summit in the Swiss Alps, Trump told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he would cut off funding to the Palestinians unless they agree to resume peace talks, saying the Palestinians “disrespected us a few weeks ago by not allowing our great vice president” to meet with them.
Trump’s decision last year to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital roiled Arab nations and led the Palestinians to refuse to meet with Vice President Mike Pence during his visit to the Mideast this week. They also declared a new U.S.-led peace push dead, saying Washington can no longer be trusted as an honest broker.
Trump said that decision has consequences. The U.S., he said, gives “hundreds of millions of dollars in aid and support” to the Palestinians, and “that money is on the table and that money’s not going to them unless they sit down and negotiate peace.” Israeli Prime Minister
The Palestinian envoy to Washington, Husam Zomlot, accused the president of “backstabbing” the Palestinians. In a speech at the Washington-based Middle East Institute, Zomlot said Trump had reneged on his promise not to prejudge solutions to the conflict, and he chided the president for acting “triumphant” and “victorious” in Davos.
“We don’t understand, triumphant and victorious, what is it? For killing the only possible solution? For pushing us to the Armageddon?” Zomlot said.
Trump’s comments came shortly after he arrived at the World Economic Forum, which brings together world leaders, business executives and celebrities. His appearance is aimed at luring foreign investment to the U.S. and highlighting his “America first” economic agenda, despite its seeming odds with a gathering that celebrates global cooperation and free trade.
Washington has contributed more than $5 billion in economic and security aid to the Palestinians since the mid-1990s. Annual economic aid since 2008 has averaged around $400 million, much of it devoted to development projects. State Department spokesman Heather Nauert said all bilateral assistance to the Palestinians, including economic security aid, is at risk if the Palestinians don’t return to the negotiating table.
Last week, the Trump administration moved to withhold some — but not all — of a scheduled aid payment to the United Nations agency that assists Palestinian refu- gees. The Trump administration said it would provide $60 million, while keeping $65 million until the U.N. body undertakes a “fundamental re-examination.” Nauert said that action is unrelated.
Also Thursday, during a meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May, Trump insisted the U.S.-U.K. relationship isn’t strained.
“We’re on the same wavelength in I think every respect,” Trump said, stressing that he and May have a “really great relationship, although some people don’t necessarily believe that.”
“We are very much joined at the hip when it comes to the military. We have the same ideas, the same ideals, and there’s nothing that would happen to you that we won’t be there to fight for you,” he told May. “You know that.”
One British official said there was good chemistry between May and Trump during their 40-minute conversation. Trump declared his “love” for the U.K. while May said Brits stand “shoulder to shoulder” with Americans in a “really special relationship.”
The two leaders concluded their meeting “by asking officials to work together on finalizing the details of a visit by the president to the U.K. later this year,” May’s office said in an emailed statement.
The White House said it would be a “working visit.” It’s likely to take place in the second half of 2018.
Trump hosted May at the White House days after he took office. But he recently canceled a trip to London to celebrate the opening of the new U.S. Embassy. Trump and May also traded criticism last year over his retweets of a far-right group’s anti-Muslim videos.
According to May’s office, the two leaders did discuss issues on which they have disagreed — such as the Iran nuclear deal and the Bombardier trade row, with the prime minister “reiterating the importance of the company’s jobs in Northern Ireland.”
Britain is eager to strike a free-trade deal with the U.S. after it leaves the EU in 2019. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Thursday that the U.S. is ready to negotiate an “attractive” trade deal with Britain once that happens.
“The two leaders reiterated their desire for a strong trading relationship post-Brexit, which would be in the interests of both countries,” May’s office said.
The president is set to address the forum today. He also hosted a dinner with European business leaders and will meet with other world leaders, including Rwandan President Paul Kagame, during his two-day visit.