Trump expresses commitment to peace in West Asia

Trump also expressed an even loftier hope than an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement: “I also firmly believe that if Israel and the Palestinians can make peace, it will begin a process of peace all throughout the Middle East, and that would be an unbelievable accomplishment”. Peace, he said, “can never take root in an environment where violence is tolerated, funded or rewarded”. So Trump is, in those remarks, kind of putting Israeli-Palestinian peace kind of in the center of the agenda.

“President Abbas assures me he is ready to work toward that goal in good faith, and Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu has promised the same”.

Trump added that the State of Israel was a “strong and soaring monument to the solemn pledge we repeat and affirm “Never again”.

During meetings with Netanyahu on Monday, Trump focused attention on the threat from Iran but also talked about the opportunities for peace in the region and how Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations were shifting their stance, potentially opening a window towards a regional agreement.

KEITH: And, he said, Netanyahu had assured him he wants peace, too. “They are losers. We will have more of them, but they are losers, just remember that”.

Despite the lack of specifics, former peace negotiator Sher gave Trump credit for wading so early in his term into a conflict that bedeviled his predecessors. He will close his ambitious first foreign trip at a pair of summits in Brussels and Sicily, where his reception from European leaders may be less effusive than his welcome in Israel and Saudi Arabia, his opening stop on the trip.

In other words, Abbas and Netanyahu had better get used to seeing Trump around the Camp David campfire.

Also of concern to Israelis is Trump’s refusal to take on, at least in his public statements, the issue of Palestinian payments to families of terrorists.

President Trump weighed in on the attack today.

The three dailies printed photos of Abbas and Trump in Bethlehem and at their joint press conference. On Tuesday morning, Trump met with Abbas in Bethlehem, traveling across the barrier surrounding much of the biblical city. And the fact that Trump is breaking that taboo is a sign that the USA recognizes the significance for the Jewish people of that holy site, Pollock said. The global community doesn’t recognize Israeli sovereignty over east Jerusalem and Palestinians regard it as the future capital of an independent Palestinian state.

After the papal audience, also to be attended by Trump’s wife Melania and daughter Ivanka, the Trump couple are to be given a tour of the Sixtine Chapel and St Peter’s Basilica. “By visiting the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, by becoming the first sitting president to visit the Western Wall, by not falling prey to the political status-quo, President Trump is acting with profound, political courage”. Police said children were among those killed or injured.

If you’re one of those people who looks for clues into the health of the Trumps’ marriage, this may provide more fodder. I say the focus on the problem is wrong-headed.

Trump’s visit to Jerusalem has been laden with religious symbolism.

Israeli and USA media are calling the visit hugely significant.

The 10 Jews held their prayer-protest and reportedly sang the Israeli national anthem as Israelis commemorated Jerusalem Day, marking the establishment of Israeli control over the Old City following its capture in the Six-Day War of 1967.

Let’s start by conceding that the White House achieved all of its short-term objectives. “So U.S. officials generally don’t travel to places. that are disputed but over which Israel claims sovereignty”.