President-elect Donald Trump’s transitional team has recently been in contact with the Palestinians on how to proceed with diplomatic negotiations.
Israel Radio, in a report on Tuesday, quoted sources within Trump’s team and among Palestinian Authority officials who affirmed that the contacts were taking place.
In the report, an unnamed “senior official” working for Trump is said to have asked a senior Palestinian official why they would object to moving the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to western Jerusalem.
The official replied that there should be a parallel move, that Washington should establish a US embassy for “Palestine” in eastern Jerusalem and one for Israel in the west side of the city.
The Palestinians envision the eastern side of Israel’s capital as its own. Moving the embassy to Jerusalem would be the final death blow to the failed peace negotiations, the Palestinians have threatened.
The Trump official reportedly replied that “there is no Palestine, and Jerusalem is not your capital. If you stop the incitement to terror, put in place full economic transparency, stop acting unilaterally at UN bodies and accept a US embassy in west Jerusalem, we (the US) would consider a US diplomatic mission in Ramallah and call upon the Israelis to enter into serious negotiations with you on a long-term relationship.”
The Palestinian official then demanded that Israel stop construction in Judea and Samaria, as well as in eastern Jerusalem, adding that negotiations for a two-state solution based on the pre-1967 borders should promptly commence.
According to sources from both sides, the two senior officials agreed to stay in touch, while no final commitments were made.
Strength and force is the only thing that the Arabs respect. They admire the “strong man” — think Saddam Hussein of Iraq, or Nasser of Egypt or even Bin Ladin. These brutes are heros of the Arab world. For the Arabs to once again respect America we must have another strong man who will do what he says he will do. Placing our embassy in Jerusalem might actually bring so called “Palestinians” to the negotiating table. Placating them for the past 60 years certainly hasn’t worked.
Israel cannot OCCUPY what is their’s and has been for over 2,500 years! That point has to be pounded into the minds of so-called Palestinians, et al, and there will be NO going back to the 1967 borders, as it was Jordan who illegally OCCUPIED east Jerusalem and the West bank for 19 years, which Israel WON it back and it is theirs.
Further, there is NO such people as Palestinians, and there never was, currently is not, nor will there ever be a state called Palestine, its all a LIE. Turnspeak, an Arabic term referring to a deliberate inversion of the FACTS, to make the victim ISRAEL, appears as the aggressor, all LIES!
Amen to both comments, but we all know that there will never be any lasting peace in the region until the Second Coming of Christ, but before we get there Modern Israel will pass through much suffering! (Zech. 13: 8-9)
I am happy that the upcoming Trump administration is neither intimidated nor bowing down to the enemies of America. No such people as Palestinians exist nor has any such Palestinian state ever existed. Period. Unfortunately, many have been brainwashed to believe the opposite. Trump should move the US embassy to Jerusalem and Israelis should continue to build houses for their citizens, which is nobody’s business but their own. If that offends the Arabs and the Obama administration, too bad. I also hope that when Mr. Trump is President, he will cut all funding for the UN and EU.