US warns Israel on colony expansion
PRESIDENT WARNS ISRAEL ON COLONIES FOLLOWING CONSULTAIONS WITH ARABS WHO OFFER CONDITIONAL HELP TO SOLVE THE CONFLICT
In an interview to Israeli newspaper, Trump also suggests he is reviewing his campaign promise to the move US embassy from Tel Aviv to occupied Jerusalem |
US President Donald Trump and his advisers, venturing for the first time into the fraught world of Middle East peacemaking, are developing a strategy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that would enlist Arab nations like Saudi Arabia and Egypt to break years of deadlock.
The emerging approach mirrors the thinking of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, who will visit the United States this week, and would build on his perceived alignment with some Arab countries in trying to counter the rise of Iran. But Arab officials have warned Trump and his advisers that if they want cooperation, the United States cannot make life harder for them with provocative pro-Israel moves.
The White House seems to be taking the advice. Trump delayed his plan to move the US Embassy to occupied Jerusalem after Arab leaders told him that doing so would cause angry protests among Palestinians, who also claim the city as the capital of a future state. And after meeting with King Abdullah of Jordan last week, Trump authorised a statement that, for the first time, cautioned Israel against building new colonies beyond existing lines.
Yesterday, Trump warned Israel that he did not believe that building more homes in colonies was “good for peace” and said he wanted Israel to “act reasonably”. The comments to an Israeli newspaper, published yesterday, appeared as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with advisers to plot strategy for his first face-to-face meeting in the White House with Trump on Wednesday.
Trump suggested that he was reviewing his promise to the move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to occupied Jerusalem.
“I’m thinking about it. I’m learning the issue and we’ll see what happens,” Trump was quoted as saying in the interview. “It’s not an easy decision. It’s been discussed for so many years. No one wants to make this decision, and I’m thinking about it seriously.”
Trump said he wanted to explore the possibilities for making what he has called “the ultimate deal,” a peace pact between Israel and the Palestinians. “No deal is a good deal if it isn’t good for all sides,” Trump said.
He appeared to question Netanyahu’s claim that the colonies were not an obstacle to peace.
“There is limited remaining territory,” Trump said of the West Bank. “Every time you take land for a [colony], less territory remains. I’m not someone who believes that advancing settlements is good for peace. But we are examining a number of options.”
The discussions in the White House underscore the evolution of the new president’s attitude toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as he delves deeper into the issue. During the campaign and the postelection transition, Trump presented himself as an unstinting supporter of Israel who would quickly move the embassy and support new colony construction without reservation. But he has tempered that to a degree.
Jared Kushner, the senior White House adviser whom Trump has assigned a major role in negotiations, has been intrigued by the notion of recruiting Arab countries to help forge an agreement between Israelis and Palestinians — known as the “outside-in” approach, according to people who have spoken with him. Kushner has grown close to Ron Dermer, the Israeli ambassador and a close confidant of Netanyahu. Trump and Kushner also had dinner at the White House on Thursday night with Sheldon Adelson, the Zionist casino magnate and key supporter of Netanyahu.
A series of telephone conversations and personal meetings with Arab and regional leaders in recent weeks have also shaped Kushner’s thinking and that of the president.
Jordan’s King Abdullah seems to have played a particularly pivotal role. Concerned that an embassy move would anger the many Palestinians living in his country, the king rushed to Washington without an invitation in a gamble that he could see Trump. He visited first with Vice-President Mike Pence, who had him over for breakfast at his official residence last week. The king appealed to the administration’s fixation with Daesh, arguing that it should not alienate Arab allies who could help.
Several days later, the king buttonholed Trump on the sidelines of the National Prayer Breakfast and made a similar case. He advised against a radical shift in US policy and emphasised the risks that Jordan would face if Israel were to become even more assertive about building colonies, according to people who spoke with Kushner and Steve Bannon, the chief White House strategist.The administration had also received reports from US diplomats in Jordan that the threat level for a terrorist attack there had been raised to the highest level in years.
Within hours of Trump’s meeting with King Abdullah, the administration leaked a statement to The Jerusalem Post saying, “We urge all parties from taking unilateral actions that could undermine our ability to make progress, including [colony] announcements.”
After that was posted online, the White House issued a public statement with softened language: “While we don’t believe the existence of colonies is an impediment to peace, the construction of new colonies or the expansion of existing colonies beyond their current borders may not be helpful in achieving that goal.”