While hosting Abbas, Trump promises to broker peace deal
WASHINGTON — Vowing to achieve where successive U.S. governments have failed, President Donald Trump hosted Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas at the White House on Wednesday and expressed broad if unsubstantiated confidence that he might be able to broker “the toughest deal” — peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
“I’ve always heard that perhaps the toughest deal to make is the deal between the Israelis and the Palestinians; let’s prove them wrong,” Trump said, with Abbas at his side. “I will do whatever is necessary to facilitate the agreement — to mediate, to arbitrate, anything.” Praise and goodwill
Later, as the two leaders sat down to a working lunch in the White House Cabinet Room, Trump added that a resolution to what is considered one of the most intractable conflicts in the world was “something that I think is, frankly, maybe not as difficult as people have thought over the years.”
Abbas responded with optimism and praise for Trump’s deal-making ability, even though his list of Palestinian requirements for peace was unchanged from the one that has been aired during decades of earlier failed negotiations.
Those include a viable, independent Palestinian state next to Israel, with its capital in East Jerusalem — the so-called two-state solution, which Trump has not endorsed.
“Mr. President, you have the determination and the desire to bring (a deal) to fruition,” Abbas said, speaking in classical Arabic through an interpreter. “We hope, God willing, we are coming to a new opportunity, a new horizon to bring it about.”
Despite the opening flourishes of praise and goodwill, the two leaders’ meeting was expected to become more uncomfortable behind closed doors, as the administration laid out a series of demands. Symbolic concessions
The White House went out of its way to build up Abbas during the visit, giving in to requests for a lunch with Trump beyond their meeting, as well as that the Palestinian flag be placed behind Trump while the two leaders made statements, a person close to the White House said.
The White House felt that giving Abbas those symbolic concessions would help set the conditions for a better relationship and create an opening to demand that Abbas shut down terror incitement, stop payments by the Palestinian Authority to the families of those killed or imprisoned in terrorist attacks against Israelis, refrain from lobbying the United Nations for additional resolutions against Israel, and get on board toward a peace deal.
But when it comes to what an eventual solution should look like, Trump has told advisers he’s not picky about the details, or even the broad outlines.