Donald Trump continues his foreign trip to Israel
Continuing his foreign trip as US President, Donald Trump will meet with the Israeli Prime Minister and the head of the Palestinian Authority in Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Reports indicate that one of the most important goals of this trip is a new effort by Washington to revive peace talks.
Reuters reports that over the next two days, the US president will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, in what is seen as an attempt to revive the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
The Associated Press reports that Mr. Trump is leaving for Israel after saying that resolving the crisis between the two sides "may not be as difficult as people think."
The efforts of previous US administrations have not gone far enough, and while the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, as Washington had emphasized over the past years, has not been achieved, new plans for settlement construction, Palestinian attacks on Israeli citizens and security forces, and clashes between the two sides have continued.
Last March, Trump said during a meeting with Mahmoud Abbas at the White House, "Honestly, I think [achieving peace] is not as hard as people think."
However, the Associated Press says that US President's advisers have been trying to portray Trump's trip as more of a symbolic one than a significant and practical step towards peace.
Reuters also says that the US president has said he will do whatever is necessary to bring about peace, but in reality there is little sign of the possibility of reviving the peace talks, which are currently stalled.
On his first foreign trip as US President, Trump met with the King of Saudi Arabia and the leaders of dozens of Islamic countries in Riyadh on Saturday and Sunday.
In his speech on May 21, he strongly attacked Tehran's policies, describing the Iranian government as one that "provides safe haven to terrorists, financially supports them, and is responsible for instability in the region."
Meanwhile, Mr. Trump and Saudi King Salman signed a $110 billion arms deal on Saturday, a deal that US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said was aimed at supporting Riyadh, saying it was needed “particularly against malign Iranian influence and threats to Saudi Arabia’s borders.”
But the deal has sparked reactions in Israel; ahead of the US president's visit, the country's energy minister expressed "concern" about the US's "major arms deal" with Saudi Arabia, calling it "annoying" for Israel.
While the Israeli prime minister has repeatedly described Iran as a "major threat" to his country and the "global order," his cabinet minister on May 21 also named Saudi Arabia as an "enemy" of Israel and said that "the presence of the most advanced American weapons" there is a cause for concern.
After Israel, Mr. Trump's trip will continue with a trip to the Vatican, a meeting with the leaders of the world's seven largest economies in Sicily, Italy, and a NATO summit in Brussels.
Source: Radio Farda
