Donald Trump peace plan delights Israelis, enrages Palestinians
Trump’s plan envisions a disjointed Palestinian state that turns over key parts of the West Bank to Israel.
US Embassy in Jerusalem to open with initial staff of 50
The new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem will open with an initial staff of at least 50. That’s according to senior Trump administration officials previewing the highly anticipated opening on May 14. The embassy is moving from Tel Aviv in line with President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Roughly 800 guests will attend. Officials say the U.S. delegation doesn’t plan to meet any Palestinian officials during their visit. Initial embassy staff will include Ambassador David Friedman’s aides and U.S. consular officers already working at the site. The embassy is opening in part of a pre-existing American visa-and-passport facility with a fraction of the total U.S. personnel in Israel. The officials weren’t authorized to be identified by name and briefed reporters on condition of anonymity. Republished with permission from the Associated Press.
Mike Pompeo says Israel, Palestinian peace still a U.S. priority
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Monday that a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains a priority for the Trump administration, despite its recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and its planned move of the U.S. Embassy to the holy city over Palestinian protests. Pompeo also said the U.S. is “fully supportive” of Israel’s right to defend itself and declined to criticize the Israeli military for its use of live fire against Palestinian protesters along the Gaza border. He spoke in the Jordanian capital of Amman as he wrapped up the Middle East leg of his first overseas trip as America’s top diplomat. Pompeo called on the Palestinians to return to long-stalled peace talks with Israel. He said the United States is open to a two-state solution to the conflict if both parties agree, calling it a “likely outcome.” But he would not agree with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi’s characterization of the conflict as “the main cause of instability” in the region. “The parties will ultimately make the decision as to what the correct resolution is,” Pompeo told reporters at a joint news conference with Safadi. “We are certainly open to a two-party solution as a likely outcome.” But, he said, the Palestinians had to return to a political dialogue to get there. “An important piece of achieving Middle East stability is to resolve this conflict,” he added. “Precisely how to rank it among all the various challenges, I’ll defer on that. Know that it is an incredible priority for the United States to provide whatever assistance we can to allow the two parties to come to a resolution.” Safadi had opened the news conference with an apparent appeal for the U.S. to boost efforts to end the conflict. “This is the main cause of instability in the region and its resolution is the key to achieving the peace and stability we want,” he said. “Yes, the two-state solution is being challenged. Yes, there are many obstacles. But what is the alternative? We cannot give up in our efforts and there is no viable alternative.” Pompeo’s comments came at the end of a two-day visit to Israel and Jordan during which he did not meet Palestinian representatives. The Palestinians have essentially boycotted contacts with the U.S. since Trump announced in December that the United States was recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The Palestinians claim east Jerusalem — captured by Israel in 1967 and then annexed — as the capital of a future state. Pompeo’s visit is also taking place just two weeks before the planned May 14 opening of the new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem and expected massive Palestinian protests the following day. Over the past month, 39 Palestinians have been killed and more than 1,600 wounded in weekly border protests along the Gaza border, prompting human rights groups to ask Israel’s Supreme Court on Monday to restrict or ban the use of live ammunition. They say the military’s use of lethal force against unarmed protesters is unlawful. Israel’s military argues that the border protests are part of a long-running conflict with Gaza’s ruling Hamas, which it considers a terror group, and that the rules of armed conflict apply. Asked about the situation, Pompeo demurred, referring to “activities in Gaza over the past days and weeks.” “We do believe the Israelis have the right to defend themselves and we are fully supportive of that,” he said. In addition to the Jerusalem decisions, the Trump administration has also angered the Palestinians in recent months by ordering their office in Washington closed, although it remains open for business related to negotiations, slashing funding for the U.N. agency that supports Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza and elsewhere in the region, and putting on hold all bilateral assistance to the Palestinians. Although the White House sponsored a conference on aid to Gaza last month, the Palestinians did not attend. And, a peace plan devised by Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner and his special envoy for international negotiations Jason Greenblatt appears to be on hold. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Luther Strange cosponsors Jerusalem reunification resolution
With the support of Alabama Senator Luther Strange, the U.S. Senate on Monday unanimously passed a resolution calling on President Donald Trump to “abide by” provision of a 1995 law moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Last Thursday, Trump signed a waiver delaying the controversial move of the embassy, backtracking on months of campaign promises, which prompted Monday night’s vote. The resolution, S. Res. 176: Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Reunification of Jerusalem, passed the chamber 90-0. Strange, who cosponsored the resolution, expressed renewed confidence in the American-Israeli relationship, recognized Jerusalem as home to the holy sites of three world religions, and commended Israel and the combatant nations of the Six Day War of 1967, Egypt and Jordan, for their commitment to upholding peace in the half century since the conflict. “Over half of the world’s people practice faiths with roots in the holy sites of Jerusalem, and the city continues to be the centerpiece of America’s own cherished friendship with Israel,” said Strange. “The coexistence and cooperation demonstrated by those who call Jerusalem home give us hope as we continue to encourage lasting peace. I was proud to cosponsor this resolution and join my colleagues in marking such a significant milestone in the history of the Holy City.”
Nikki Haley supports moving US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem
South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley pledged her support for moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a shift firmly endorsed by Donald Trump but one that could trigger more violence in the Middle East. Haley, Trump’s pick to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday that she “absolutely” backs the embassy move because that’s what Israel and congressional Republicans want. But a spokesman for Jordan’s government recently told The Associated Press that the embassy move would be a “red line” for Amman and “inflame the Islamic and Arab streets.” Jordan serves as custodian of a major Islamic shrine in east Jerusalem and the Palestinians seek a capital there. Haley also took a tougher stance against Russia than Trump, who will be sworn in Friday. She told the committee that she believes Russia committed war crimes by bombing Syrian civilians in the city of Aleppo. Rex Tillerson, Trump’s choice for secretary of state, declined to make that accusation during his confirmation hearing last week. She said she doesn’t think that the United States can trust Moscow right now and said she’s against lifting existing sanctions against Russia unless it changes its behavior. But she acknowledged there are areas, such as counterterrorism, where the two countries can cooperate. “The problem is there are no boundaries with Russia,” said Haley, who added that the U.S. needs to let Moscow know “we are not OK” with its annexation of Crimea and incursion in Ukraine. During the hearing, Haley assailed the Obama administration for failing to block a U.N. Security Council resolution that condemned Israel’s settlements in east Jerusalem and the West Bank. She pledged to reject future measures that she said unfairly targeted the Jewish state, if the Senate confirms her nomination. Haley said she won’t go to U.N. headquarters in New York and “abstain when the U.N. seeks to create an international environment that encourages boycotts of Israel.” She told the committee the U.N. resolution was “a terrible mistake” that makes a peace agreement between the Israelis and the Palestinians harder to achieve. Haley also said the U.N. has a “long history of anti-Israel bias,” and that during the most recent U.N. General Assembly session, the international body adopted 20 resolutions against Israel “and only six targeting the rest of the world’s countries combined.” Haley acknowledged that she is new to international diplomacy. But she said while the U.N. has had many successes, citing health and food programs that have saved millions of lives, “any honest assessment also finds an institution that is often at odds with American national interests and American taxpayers.” The United States contributes 22 percent of the organization’s budget, and Haley questioned whether such a sizeable investment is worthwhile. “We are a generous nation,” Haley said. “But we must ask ourselves what good is being accomplished by this disproportionate contribution. Are we getting what we pay for?” But she said she would not endorse a “slash and burn” strategy when it comes to determining where to spend money. Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland, the committee’s top Democrat, said that despite the U.N. shortcomings, “it is almost impossible to imagine a world without the U.N.” He emphasized the need to strengthen America’s alliances, particularly in light of Trump’s view that NATO is “obsolete.” “We need to be reassuring our allies, not threatening to abandon them,” Cardin told Haley. Last December, Israel and its supporters lashed out at Obama for his decision to abstain and allow the U.N. Security Council to approve the resolution, which called the Israeli settlements “a flagrant violation under international law.” But Secretary of State John Kerry defended the decision in a speech last month, saying the U.S. was standing up for a two-state solution when it abstained on the resolution. He criticized Israel for settlement building and blamed Netanyahu for dragging Israel away from democracy. Kerry said expanding Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem are leading to an “irreversible one-state reality.” Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Jerusalem mayor hopes Donald Trump will move US Embassy to the city
Jerusalem’s mayor said Tuesday that he is confident Donald Trump will move the American Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a break in U.S. policy that is sure to anger Palestinians, who claim the eastern sector of the city for their future capital. Mayor Nir Barkat told The Associated Press that he has been in touch with Trump’s staff about the issue. While previous presidential candidates have made similar promises, Barkat said his conversations have led him to believe that Trump is serious about making the move. “Naturally my intuition tells me that it’s different this time, knowing the people hearing his statements, where we are today,” Barkat said. Transferring the embassy to Jerusalem would be a highly symbolic and politically charged act. The fate of the east Jerusalem is at the heart of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Virtually all embassies to Israel are located in or around Tel Aviv. Israel captured east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed it in a move that is not internationally recognized. It claims the entire city as its capital. The Palestinians seek east Jerusalem, home to key Jewish, Muslim and Christian holy sites, as the capital of their future state. “The United States of America has embassies in all of the world’s capitals with the exception of Israel,” Barkat said. “That’s absurd, and moving the embassy to the capital of the Jewish people, to Jerusalem, is a straightforward, standard thing to do.” Barkat spoke a day after Trump’s spokeswoman Kellyanne Conway told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt that the president-elect is determined to move the embassy to Jerusalem when he takes office “That is a very big priority for this president-elect, Donald Trump,” she said. “He made that very clear during the campaign, Hugh. And as president-elect, I’ve heard him repeat it several times privately, if not publicly.” The moving of the embassy, and recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, enjoys broad support among Israel’s Jewish majority. Speaking to foreign reporters Monday, before Conway’s comments had been reported, opposition lawmaker Yair Lapid called the proposal an “excellent idea.” Moving the embassy to Jerusalem would signal U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, a move that would infuriate Palestinians, break decades of American policy and distance the U.S. from most of the international community, including its closest allies in Western Europe. The Palestinians condemned the idea. “Any attempt to move the embassy to Jerusalem will not help achieve peace,” said Adnan Husseini, Palestinian minister for Jerusalem affairs. He urged Trump to instead push for the establishment of a Palestinian state as part of a peace settlement with Israel. Trump has said he would like to broker a peace deal, but he has given few details on how he hopes to do so. He has raised concerns among Palestinians because many of his advisers take hard-line positions that favor Israel, and his campaign platform made no mention of Palestinian independence – a U.S. position for the past two decades. The last round of U.S.-mediated peace talks collapsed over two years ago. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Marco Rubio: Israel, Europe, U.S. in same fight against terrorism
Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio says Israel’s fight against terrorism is the same one being fought by the United States and Europe. The Florida senator spoke in Miami Beach during a large rally in support of Israel and against anti-Semitism. He says the threat to Jerusalem and Tel Aviv is the same as the threat to Paris, London and U.S. cities. And Rubio warns against “casting out one of our own”— meaning Israel — in hopes of appeasing jihadis. He was joined at the rally by Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson and other top Florida lawmakers. The “Never Again” rally was organized by major Jewish organizations to bring attention to attacks on Israel and to commemorate the 77th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
GOP hopeful Mike Huckabee says West Bank is part of Israel
Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee waded into Middle East politics on Tuesday by declaring the West Bank to be part of Israel. Huckabee was speaking to reporters at Ancient Shiloh, for which a modern settlement nearby is named and where tradition holds the ancient Israelites kept the tabernacle with Moses’ tablets on its way to Jerusalem. “I am delighted tonight to be here at Shiloh. It is an exciting place and an important place. It is the place where the tabernacle once was. It’s a place of Biblical history,” he said. He told reporters “if you’re going to visit Israel you should visit all of Israel, and that would include Judea and Samaria,” the biblical names for the West Bank. His comments on the West Bank are at odds with U.S policy. Israel captured the West Bank from Jordan in the 1967 Mideast war. Palestinians demand the area, along with East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, for a future state. The fate of West Bank settlements is one of the core issues at the heart of the conflict. Huckabee is visiting Israel to meet with officials to discuss the Obama administration’s nuclear deal with Iran. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
