The president also noted the timing of their meeting, which came just hours after a suspected suicide bomber killed at least 22 people at a concert in Manchester, England.
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Indeed, Trump has not referenced a “two-state solution” or a “Palestinian state” since he stepped foot on Israeli soil Monday afternoon, an omission which has raised hopes in the Israeli right-wing that Trump will not ultimately support either idea in his pursuit of a peace deal.
Trump came to power promising to be the most pro-Israel president in USA history. “Benjamin Netanyahu wants peace”.
“Mr Abbas assures me he is ready to work towards that goal in good faith, and Israeli Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu has promised the same”. “He’s still on a learning curve, and peacemaking is not a business deal”.
Meanwhile, ahead of Trump’s meeting with Netanyahu in Jerusalem Monday, a live-streamed White House schedule stated Trump would deliver remarks in “Jerusalem, Israel”, apparently recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over the holy city despite Trump himself never affirming a change in United States policy.
On Thursday, special envoy of the Trump administration to the Middle East Jason Greenblatt is coming to Israel to continue the peace discussions with Netanyahu.
Trump and Netanyahu in particular lavished praise on each other during their multiple meetings. Former President Barack Obama’s note – written when he was first running for president – was much longer.
Nevertheless, Israeli officials are skeptical.
Moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem will not harm the peace process.
In a country where symbolism is so important, President Donald Trump made a number of important gestures during his visit to the Holy Land this week, leaving Israelis elated and Palestinians disappointed.
“I think the president has indicated he’s willing to put his own personal efforts into this if the Israelis and the Palestinians are ready to be serious about engaging as well”.
Trump says the attack preyed on “innocent children”.
Abbas said he was keen to “keep the door open to dialogue with our Israeli neighbors”.
That is why Trump was silent on Jerusalem, on a Palestinian state, the “occupation”.
“I was gratified that President Abbas joined the summit and committed to taking firm but necessary steps to fight terrorism and confront its hateful ideology”, he stated.
The president and his family also visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial and embraced the Israeli ethos that the Jewish state rose out of the ashes of World War II.
Yesterday, during his speech at the Israel Museum, Trump promised to stand by Israel against the Iranian threat: “Iran’s leaders routinely call for Israel’s destruction”. The White House has denied any wrongdoing.
USA administration officials say it is the biggest single arms deal in American history.
Ever since Donald Trump delivered a speech in Saudi Arabia declaring Arab leaders as us allies in fighting terrorism, speculations have been flying around on whether the president has changed his stance on Islam.
“The president was very forceful in his encouragement to both of them to be serious about approaching these discussions in the future and recognize you have to compromise”, Tillerson said in Rome, where he was accompanying Trump on his first overseas trip as president.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Words can never describe the bottomless depths of that evil or the scope of the anguish and destruction.
President Trump was the first USA president to visit the Western Wall.
The visit raised questions about whether the US would indicate the site is Israeli territory.
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JOHN YANG: Missing from Mr. Trump’s comments?
