Trump questions Israel’s desire for peace

JERUSALEM — President Donald Trump questioned Israel’s interest in making peace with the Palestinians in an interview published Sunday, spotlighting its West Bank settlements as a complicating factor.

In the interview in the Israel Hayom daily, Trump also cast doubt on the Palestinians’ desire to strike a deal.

“Right now, I would say the Palestinians are not looking to make peace, they are not looking to make peace. And I am not necessarily sure that Israel is looking to make peace. So we are just going to have to see what happens,” Trump was quoted as saying.

“The (West Bank) settlements are something that very much complicates and always have complicated making peace, so I think Israel has to be very careful with the settlements,” he said.

Harvard University has named Lawrence Bacow its 29th president. Bacow served as president of Tufts University for a decade. He will take over from Drew Faust, who has served in the post for more than a decade as Harvard's first female president. Bacow assumes the office July 1, when Faust steps down.

The death toll from the explosion of a gas canister at a Bolivian Carnival parade rose to eight Sunday, and authorities said at least 40 people were injured. Police said three children were among those killed in Saturday’s explosion in the city of Oruro, some 155 miles south of the Bolivian capital, La Paz.