Speaking in Jerusalem after talks with Israeli leaders on the first day of his two-day visit, Mr Trump doubled-down on Iran, pledging he would never let Tehran acquire nuclear arms and demanding Tehran immediately cease military and financial backing of “terrorists and militias”. “What’s happened with Iran has brought many of the parts of the Middle East toward Israel,” Mr Trump said at a meeting with President Reuven Rivlin. In his comments to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Mr Trump mentioned a growing Iranian influence in conflicts in Syria, Yemen and Iraq, where it either backs Shiite fighters or has sent its own forces……Read More
Donald Trump says common threat of Iran may bring Israel and its Arab neighbours together
Donald Trump
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has crossed the Rubicon and voiced “unprecedented” readiness to reach a peace deal with Israel, sources close to the efforts to renew talks between Israel and the Palestinians have told The Jerusalem Post. Abbas, according to the sources, made this clear to President Donald Trump during their meeting at the White House last week. The president plans to use his trip to Israel later this month to receive assurances from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he, too, is committed to a peace agreement. Since his meeting with Trump last week, Abbas has changed his rhetoric, issuing a number of statements meant to reflect flexibility on previous demands. He has, for example, said that he would renew the talks under Trump’s auspices without preconditions. In the past, he had said he would not negotiate with Netanyahu without a freeze to settlement construction…….
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday urged Muslims to throng to the Temple Mount in a show of solidarity with Palestinians as he issued a string of challenges to Israel, which he called “racist and discriminatory.” “We, as Muslims, should be visiting Al-Quds more often,” he said, referring to Jerusalem by its Arabic name. “Each day that Jerusalem is under occupation is an insult to us,” he added, at the opening ceremony of the International Forum on al-Quds Waqf in Istanbul, Turkey’s Hurriyet news reported. Erdogan said increased Muslim visits to the Jerusalem holy site “would be the greatest support to our brothers there.” “Both in terms of our religion and historical responsibility, Al-Quds and the fight of our Palestinian brothers for rights and justice is of great importance to us. We will keep making efforts for Quds to turn into a city of peace,” Erdogan said…….
President Donald Trump will recognize an undivided Jerusalem as the capital of Israel during his first visit, reportedly planned for May, but he will not overturn the long-standing veto on moving the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem when it comes up for renewal, reported Israeli newspaper Yedidoth Achronot on Thursday. The biannual veto of the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 is due for renewal in May. Since the bill was first passed, every US president has signed a waiver at six-month intervals delaying the legislation’s enactment. The May deadline will mark the first time the bill has come up for consideration under President Trump….