World
Trump to take first step towards the ‘ultimate deal’ at meeting with Abbas
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas arrives in Washington today to meet the US President
May 3, 2017 13:29
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas arrives in Washington today to meet the US President
May 3, 2017 13:29Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas arrived in Washington on Wednesday for his first meeting with President Donald Trump in what was seen as an opportunity to renew the long-stagnant diplomatic process between Israel and the Palestinians.
In a joint press conference ahead of the meeting, Mr Trump said he was committed to helping Mr Abbas formulate “the final and most important peace agreement that will give peace and prosperity. It’s been said that this is the most difficult deal to make, so let’s see if we can prove them wrong.”
Mr Abbas said: “We, Mr President, are coming into a new opportunity that will enable us to bring about peace.
“We believe this is possible, and we will be able to solve the issues of refugees and prisoners.”
Mr Abbas added it was “about time” for Israel’s occupation of the West Bank to end, and called for an independent Palestinian state to be established along 1967 lines.
While no clear agenda has been released in advance of the scheduled two-hour meeting, Mr Trump has expressed his interest in achieving the "ultimate deal" of bringing peace to the region. To this end, he has appointed two of his closest advisers, son-in-law Jared Kushner and personal attorney David Greenblatt, to oversee the issue personally.
Mr Trump has also surprised, and disappointed, some right-wingers in Israel by not rushing to fulfil his election promise to move the US Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and by urging the Israeli government to hold back on large-scale building in the West Bank.
At the same time, he remains closely coordinated with Israeli Prime MInister Benjamin Netanyahu and is unlikely to embark on any diplomatic initiative without having him on board.
Mr Trump was expected to bring up at his meeting with Mr Abbas two of Mr Netanyahu's demands that the Palestinians have rejected in the past.
First, that the Palestinians agree to recognise Israel as the Jewish State at the conclusion of any peace agreement and second, that the Palestinian Authority cease paying money to the Palestinian terrorists in Israeli prisons.
Even if Mr Abbas personally leans towards agreeing to these demands, he would have to pay a very heavy price for consenting to them in his own Palestinian constituency. His willingness or even ability to accede in any form to these demands following his meeting in Washington will be a sign of just how far he can go and how much pressure Mr Trump is prepared to apply to get the peace talks back on the road. And of course, the Americans will expect that any flexibility by the Palestinian president will be met with concessions from Mr Netanyahu, most likely in the form of a release of some Palestinian prisoners and at least a partial freeze in settlement-building.
The results of the meeting, to be followed three weeks later by Mr Trump's first visit to Israel as part of his first overseas trip to Europe and the Middle East, will provide a gauge as to whether the new president's desire for an "ultimate deal" is just another of his long list of grand designs, or something his administration is seriously planning to invest in.
