WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump broke with his last three predecessors Wednesday by forgoing the US commitment to a two-state solution between the Israelis and Palestinians. Instead, he offered a regional approach to negotiating peace and achieving what he called a “great deal.”
Trump, ahead of his first official meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, veered away in a joint press conference at the White House from the long-established US commitment to a two-state solution. “I’m looking at two states and one state,” Trump said, adding: “I like the one that both parties like. I can live with either one.”
But that divergence could be designed to meet Netanyahu’s two conditions for any peace deal, which he stated at the press conference as recognition by the Palestinians of Israel as a Jewish state, and security guarantees and full Israeli control in the Jordan Valley.
Trump stuck, however, with previous US parameters such as a hold on settlement expansion. “I’d like to see you hold back on settlements for a little bit,” he told Netanyahu.
Trump backtracked on a commitment to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem, and called on Israel to “show some flexibilty... to show they really want to make a deal.” He called on the Palestinian leadership “to get rid of some of the hate that they’re taught from a very young age.”
Beyond those prerequisites, Trump focused on a regional umbrella for peacemaking, saying: “I also believe that we’re going to have other players at a very high level, and I think it might make it easier on Palestinians and others.”
Trump, in typical fashion, boasted about the “big deal” he can achieve. “The United States will encourage a peace, and really a great peace deal. We’ll be working on it very diligently... but it is the parties themselves who must directly negotiate such an agreement.”
Netanyahu showered Trump with praise, declaring: “There is no greater friend than Donald Trump to the State of Israel.” He touted Trump’s hardline policies on counterterrorism and curbing Iran’s influence.
“Under your leadership, I believe we can reverse the rising tide of radical Islam... rolling back radical Islam, we can seize an historic opportunity because for the first time in my lifetime and for the first time in the life of my country, Arab countries in the region do not see Israel as an enemy.”
US observers who dealt with the peace process had different reactions to the Trump-Netanyahu remarks. Martin Indyk, a former US envoy to the peace process, tweeted: “Trump is treating the Palestinians like China: put Taiwan on table; take the Palestinian state off the table? If so it won’t work. The Chinese are too strong; the Palestinians are too weak.”
Robert Danin noted that “the Trump-Netanyahu press conference precedes their meeting,” which “suggests their comments have been tightly coordinated in advance.”
While it is too early to tell if the new Trump approach will work, or if it will be another failed US attempt to make peace in the Middle East, there will be “a lot of love, a lot of love” for Israel from his administration, he quipped.
Trump wants Israel to hold back on settlements ‘for a little bit’
Trump wants Israel to hold back on settlements ‘for a little bit’
Lebanon PM Nawaf Salam says he will not allow anyone to drag the country into new conflicts
- Salam said Hezbollah can threaten to become further involved between Iran, Israel and the US, but the Lebanese government has full control
DUBAI: Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said that Lebanon has had enough ventures in the past and that he would not allow anyone to drag the country into new conflicts.
Speaking at the World Governments Summit on Tuesday, Salam said Lebanon has been involved in the war on Gaza over the last couple of years, and the damage it has cost them has been massive.
Salam said Hezbollah can threaten to become further involved between Iran, Israel and the US, but the Lebanese government has full control over the southern region and will not allow further involvement.
“For the first time since 1996, the Lebanese government through the Lebanese Armed Forces … has full control over the south of the country,” he said.
“No one is ready to involve the country in further adventures which could cost us more and will not engage in further ventures and conflicts,” he added.
“We are aware that we are in one of the most tense regions in the world. We need to fortify ourselves by working on restoring the decision on peace and war in Lebanon,” he added.
Salam said Lebanon’s goal was to reform its sovereignty and attract global investment.
“People only focus on reforms in financial institutions, but reforms are much wider than that for my government, which of course means financial reform, but administrative reforms are also important and needed,” he added.
Salam said that attracting investment requires achieving a sense of security in the country, not only for the Lebanese people but for the world.
“Reform and sovereignty go hand in hand. We need to restore the Lebanese state and the confidence in our people,” he explained.
Salam emphasized his country’s position in achieving judicial, security and financial reforms and said he will not allow anyone to do their work for them.
“All we want from our brothers here is to support our journey, but not take our place or play our role,” he said, referring to countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
The minister said there would be a conference soon to support the Lebanese Armed Forces, and he invited all Arab leaders to participate in this event, adding that it was a way to enhance Lebanon’s security.
