Trump says Manchester bombing is the work of ‘evil losers’

“President Trump is really, really serious and he thinks peace is possible”.

The White House noted that Trump and Netanyahu discussed the current situation in Syria and the need for a political solution to the ongoing conflict in that country.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility Tuesday for the attack, although authorities said they had yet to uncover any connections between suspected suicide bomber Salman Abedi, 22, and any wider terrorist organization. Yes, we get it – it meant to say peace, but who’s to say the two sides can’t bond over some delicious fruit?

US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during their meeting at the presidential headquarters in the West Bank town of Bethlehem on May 23, 2017.

During meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday, Mr 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 states were shifting their stance, potentially opening a window for a peace agreement. The prime minister, who repeatedly butted heads with President Barack Obama, leapt to his feet when the president declared Tuesday that his administration “will always stand with Israel”.

For once, it was not what President Trump said.

President Donald Trump salutes as he arrives at the Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport in Rome on Tuesday.

“We are telling you right now that Iran will not have nuclear weapons”, he added.

Israeli and American officials insisted that in the closed talks in Jerusalem the president had insisted that he is serious about making peace. Speaking at the Israel Museum, he declared both sides ready to move forward, though there were no tangible signs of the dormant peace process being revived.

But while Mr Trump spoke in generalities about the goal, Mr Abbas laid out the specifics of Palestinian demands – which all have been supported by the Arabs and rejected by Israel through decades of unsuccessful peace negotiations shepherded by American presidents.

Trump is visiting Jerusalem and West Bank on the second part of his maiden foreign trip since taking office in January.

Trump was warmly welcomed today in Bethlehem by President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority. In his introductory remarks, Netanyahu tried to tie between the terror attack in Manchester on Monday night and the question of Palestinian funding for terrorists, arguing that under Abbas, a perpetrator of a similar attack would receive a lifelong stipend. Peace, he said, “can never take root in an environment where violence is tolerated, funded or rewarded”.

It is still early to figure out what to make of Donald Trump’s visit to Israel, as the United States president is known to make extemporaneous statements that may not accurately reflect his policy positions. As Daniel notes, the Israeli leader was referring to “what Palestinians see as a form of welfare support to families whose relatives have acted on behalf of the Palestinian cause”.

Naftali Bennett, leader of the rightist Jewish Home party, a key member of Netanyahu’s governing coalition, summed up the prevailing mood among officials in the wake of Trump’s visit.

“In so doing we will all enjoy a safer and brighter future and a safer and brighter world”, he said after holding talks with the Palestinian president in Bethlehem.