At the Davos global forum
With Netanyahu at his side, president presses Palestinians
in Switzerland, President Donald Trump meets separately with the leaders of two of America’s closest allies — and observers say it appears the president favors Israel over Britain.
DAVOS, Switzerland — President Donald Trump met separately with the leaders of two of America’s closest allies Thursday and their public appearances confirmed that the closer of the two is Israel, even as Trump insisted that reported tensions with Britain are a “false rumor.”
Both prime ministers — Britain’s Theresa May and Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu — received grins, handshakes and warm words as they met with the president on the sidelines of a global forum in Switzerland.
But Trump’s smiles were cheerier, his touch and words warmer with Netanyahu, and the public portion of their session more than twice as long.
The so-called special relationship between the United States and Britain has chilled under Trump as he’s repeatedly offended the British — earlier this month he canceled a trip to London in February — while the president has given Israel much to celebrate.
In his meeting with Netanyahu, Trump again leaned harder onto Israel’s side in its longstanding conflict with the Palestinians, in contrast with past presidents who sought to be neutral brokers for peace.
Trump threatened to cut U.S. aid to the Palestinian Authority completely, saying Palestinian leaders “disrespected us” when they refused to meet with Vice President Mike Pence, who traveled to the region over the weekend.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas snubbed Pence to protest Trump’s decision in December recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital despite Palestinians’ own claim to the city.
The meetings with Netanyahu and May were the centerpiece of Trump’s first day at the World Economic Forum, an annual gathering of global leaders and titans of business in a ski resort town in the Swiss Alps.
He was scheduled to dine with European business executives Thursday night and on Friday deliver a keynote address, much anticipated given the dissonance between Trump’s “America First” talk and the globalist consensus among those at Davos.
Trump, who already slashed one tranche of humanitarian aid to the Palestinians last week by more than half, $65 million of a total $125 million, threatened to cut them off completely if they don’t show more respect. He said previous presidents had failed to use aid money as leverage.
The aid normally goes to the United Nations agency that provides health care and schools to Palestinian refugees.
“That money is on the table, and that money is not going to them unless they sit down and negotiate peace,” Trump said as Netanyahu and top aides, including Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, looked on.
Trump then seemed to threaten a complete break with the Palestinians.
“I can tell you that Israel does want to make peace,” he said, adding that the Palestinians are “going to have to want to make peace too, or we’re going to have nothing to do with it any longer.”
His tough rhetoric was echoed later by Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., in a speech to the Security Council excoriating the Palestinian leadership. Abbas responded through a spokesman, saying Jerusalem was “not for sale.”
Netanyahu called Trump’s decision to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv “a historic decision that will be forever etched in the hearts of our people for generations to come.”
The Israeli leader broke his smile to show discomfort when Trump promised on Israel’s behalf that it would later make concessions to the Palestinians in exchange for the United States’ recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
Allies in the region and other countries have criticized Trump’s Jerusalem decision as a setback in the peace process.
Trump argue that, rather than hinder peace talks, he had removed a key obstacle from Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.
“We took it off the table,” Trump said. Gesturing toward Netanyahu, he added, “You won one point, and you’ll give up some points later on in the negotiation, if it ever takes place. I don’t know that it ever will take place.”
The Netanyahu meeting came directly after Trump spoke with May, and both insisted that nothing was amiss in the “special relationship” between Britain and the U.S. It was their first meeting since Trump canceled the trip to London amid expectations of mass protests against him.
“We’re on the same wavelength, I think, in every respect,” Trump said, looking toward May. “There’s nothing that would happen to you that we won’t be there to fight for you.”