#Trump – HolyLandJustice.org

4921 — Donald Trump has demonstrated that either he does not understand the situation, or does understand but does not care. (photo: Evan Vucci / AP)

The US president is treating the Middle East peace process like a Manhattan property deal that he can bully to the table.

By Peter Beaumont | The Guardian | Jan 3, 2018

“It’s over. By tweeting that he has taken Jerusalem ‘off the table’ as an issue he has admitted that US diplomats were lying when they said Jerusalem’s status has not been decided. Instead he is trying to use blackmail and a blame game against the Palestinians. What he is admitting is there is no peace process and no peace plan.”
— Palestinian official, speaking anonymously

Donald Trump’s latest intervention in the Middle East peace process — one he has already upended by recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital — looks to be his most chaotic move yet.

After appointing his son-in-law Jared Kushner as regional adviser and naming the fiercely pro-settlement lawyer David Friedman as his ambassador to Israel, the US president has blundered from crisis to crisis in recent weeks.

His speech recognizing Jerusalem as the Israeli capital breached international consensus and UN resolutions. But the latest move — a threat to cut funding to UNRWA, the UN agency that supports Palestinian refugees, and to the Palestinian Authority — is more dangerous still, demonstrating a lack of understanding of the delicate mechanics that help maintain relative peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

Continue reading “Why Trump’s funding threat to Palestinians is even more dangerous than his Jerusalem move”

5735 — Donald Trump said negotiating on Jerusalem as Israel’s capital was “off the table,” a move that caused protests in Gaza and elsewhere. (photo: ZUMA Wire / Rex / Shutterstock)

Tuesday’s tweets mark a tacit admission by Trump that his decision to move the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem had thrown a wrench into his administration’s plans to restart the peace process.

By Peter Beaumont | The Guardian | Jan 3, 2018

“The only thing the president has accomplished by saying he’s taking Jerusalem ‘off the table’ is to ensure he’ll have no place at the table where the conflict will be resolved diplomatically and a peaceful, secure future for the Jewish or Palestinian peoples ensured.
“In threatening to cut off future ‘huge’ payments to the Palestinians, the president is actually posing a direct threat to Israel’s security & well-being. American aid supports training for Palestinian security forces who have been partners of the IDF in preventing terror.”
— Jeremy Ben-Ami, President of J Street

Donald Trump has dramatically escalated his conflict with the Palestinian leadership, threatening to cut funding for the Palestinian Authority unless it recommences peace talks.

The US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, earlier said the US would cut funds to UNRWA, the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees, unless the Palestinian Authority went back to the negotiating table.

In what appeared to be an angry and defensive acknowledgement that his quest for the “ultimate deal” of Middle East peace has foundered following his controversial recognition in December of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, Trump lashed out at the Palestinian leadership.

Continue reading “Trump threatens to cut US aid to Palestinians”