Trump pushes Israel to reach peace deal
Agreement with Palestinians linked to anti-Iran coalition between Israelis and Arabs
JERUSALEM— U.S. President Donald Trump began a two-day visit to Israel on Monday with a blunt assessment for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: If Israel really wants peace with its Arab neighbours, the cost will be resolving the generations-old standoff with the Palestinians.
For years, Netanyahu has sought to recalibrate relations with Sunni Arab nations in a mutual bid to counter Shiite-led Iran, while subordinating the Palestinian dispute as a secondary issue. But as Trump arrived in Jerusalem after meetings in Saudi Arabia, the president indicated that he and those Arab states see an agreement with the Palestinians as integral to that new regional alignment.
“On those issues, there is a strong consensus among the nations of the world — including many in the Muslim world,” Trump said. “I was deeply encouraged by my conversations with Muslim world leaders in Saudi Arabia, including King Salman, who I spoke to at great length. King Salman feels very strongly and, I can tell you, would love to see peace with Israel and the Palestinians.”
Trump added that line to the remarks prepared for him, in effect tying the future of the anti-Iran coalition to the Palestinian issue despite Netanyahu’s longtime efforts to unlink the two.
“There is a growing realization among your Arab neighbours that they have common cause with you in the threat posed by Iran, and it is indeed a threat, there’s no question about that,” Trump said.
The president’s arrival here opened a new chapter in Middle East peacemaking, one that will test whether a career of business deal-making can translate to success in the world of international diplomacy.
Trump sought to showcase his friendship with Netanyahu as the two shared dinner with their wives and called each other “Donald” and “Bibi,” the prime minister’s nickname.
But neither publicly cited any concrete steps in pursuing a peace agreement. Trump did not formally recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, as some Israeli officials hoped he would do since he has shelved his promise to move the U.S. Embassy here from Tel Aviv. Nor for that matter did he publicly press Israel to curb settlement construction in the West Bank as Palestinians hoped.
Trump arrived on what is believed to be the first open, direct flight to Israel from Saudi Arabia, which do not have diplomatic relations, a sign of the possibility he sees for what he has called “the ultimate deal.”
After meeting with Reuven Rivlin, who holds the largely ceremonial position of president of Israel, the president toured the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, home of what is believed to be the tomb of Jesus Christ. He then became the first sitting president to visit the Western Wall, the holiest site for Jewish prayer, where he donned the traditional skullcap and left a note in a crevice.
On Tuesday, Trump is to travel the short distance to Bethlehem, in the West Bank, to meet with President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority. Trump is then scheduled to return to Jerusalem to lay a wreath at Yad Vashem, the Holocaust remembrance centre, and to deliver a speech at the Israel Museum.
Among other things, Trump last week disclosed to Russia’s foreign minister and ambassador some classified information that came from Israel about a Daesh plot, potentially jeopardizing the Israeli intelligence source and deeply angering some Israeli security officials.
Determined not to spoil the visit, Netanyahu had resolved not to mention the intelligence breach publicly. When a reporter asked the two leaders about it Monday, the prime min- ister brushed it off. “Intelligence cooperation is terrific,” he said. “It’s never been better.”
Trump, who said last week that he had every right to disclose the information, denied identifying Israel as the source. “I never mentioned the word or the name Israel,” he said. “Never mentioned during that conversation. They’re all saying I did, so you have another story wrong. Never mentioned the word Israel.”
The stories did not report that he had mentioned Israel by name. Instead they quoted current and former intelligence officials as saying that he had mentioned enough details to potentially expose the source.