Bethlehem/Jerusalem, May 23 (PTI): US President Donald Trump today said that he is committed “to do everything” to achieve Israel-Palestinian peace deal but made it clear that “peace cannot take root in an environment where violence is tolerated, funded and even rewarded”.
Emphasising the need for a durable peace deal between Israel an Palestine the stability of the region, Trump promised all help to renew the long-stalled talks.
“Peace is a choice we must make each day, and the United States is here to help make that dream possible for young Jewish, Christian and Muslim children all across the region,” he said.
“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.
“I am truly hopeful that America can help Israel and the Palestinians forge peace and bring new hope to the region and its people. I also firmly believe that if Israel and the Palestinians can make peace, it can begin a process of peace all throughout the Middle East and that will be an amazing accomplishment,” he said.
Trump’s statement was largely interpreted in Israel as a sharp rebuke to the Palestinian Authority (PA) practice of paying salaries to jailed Palestinians and to the families of those who were killed while trying to carry out attacks against Israel.
“We must be resolute in condemning such acts in a single unified voice,” Trump stressed.
The 70-year-old American leader during his brief visit to the West Bank town of Bethlehem, which is under PA’s control, also praised Abbas, who he said had “committed to taking firm but necessary steps to fight terrorism and confront its hateful ideology”.
“I am committed to trying to achieve a peace agreement between the Israelis and the Palestinians, and I intend to do everything I can to help them achieve that goal,” Trump said.
“President Abbas assures me he is ready to work toward that goal in good faith, and Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu has promised the same. I look forward to working with these leaders toward a lasting peace,” the US President asserted.
Speaking before Trump, Abbas said that the Palestinians “fundamental problem is with occupation and settlements and the failure of Israel to recognise the state of Palestine as we recognise it”.
“The problem is not between us and Judaism, it is between us and occupation,” the Palestinian leader asserted.
He also urged Israel to comply with “just and human demands” of hundreds of Palestinian hunger strikers currently forgoing food for the 37th day in Israeli prisons.
The Palestinian leader added that “the key to peace” in the Middle East was the independence and freedom of the Palestinian people.
“Once again we reassert to you our positions,” Abbas said elaborating, “accepting the two-state solution along the borders of 1967, a state of Palestine with a capital in East Jerusalem alongside Israel and resolving longstanding issues based on international law and agreements in accordance with Arab peace initiative.”
Trump arrived at the Presidential palace in Bethlehem in the morning after travelling there by car from Jerusalem.
While several small groups of Palestinians protests against the US leaders visit demanding his intervention on the issue of hunger striking Palestinian prisoners, banners hailing the American President as “Man of Peace” were also seen around the city.
