Neither side ready to make peace in Israel, says president

THE US president has warned Israel that its West Bank settlements risk complicating efforts to find peace in the Middle East.

In an interview published yesterday, Donald Trump also said that he was sceptical that either side – Palestinians or Israelis – was ready to make peace, and that recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel was a high point of his presidency so far.

He angered Palestinians in December when he recognised Jerusalem and then threatened to withhold aid unless their leaders entered talks.

But after going out of his way to talk up close ties with Israel during his first year in office, Mr Trump offered a more even-handed approach in Yisrael Hayom, a conservative newspaper, by offering a cool assessment of Israeli settlement building. “The settlements very much complicate making peace, so I think Israel has to be very careful with the settlements,” he said.

Israel broke ground on its first new settlement in the occupied West Bank in nearly 20 years when work began on Amichai last June, despite requests from Mr Trump for a hold on construction as he tried to revive a moribund peace process. Settlements are considered illegal under international law.

The White House had been expected to unveil a new peace proposal in the spring but the timetable has been in doubt ever since Palestinian leaders said they would play no part in a Usmediated process following Washington’s recognition of Jerusalem.

In the new interview, Mr Trump offered no firm timetable.

“Right now, I would say the Palestinians are not looking to make peace,” he said. “And I am not necessarily sure Israel is looking to make peace. So we are just going to have to see what happens.”