US President Donald Trump has met with the Palestinian Authorities top official, Mahmoud Abbas, in Bethlehem. Both leaders spoke of the stalled Middle East peace process and condemned the terror attack in Manchester.
Image: Reuters/M. Torokman
Advertisement
US President Donald Trump met with the Palestinian Authorities top official, Mahmoud Abbas, in Bethlehem on Tuesday. It was Trump’s final official meeting at the end of four days in the region before he moves on to Europe on his first foreign trip as president.
After meeting for about an hour, Trump and Abbas each delivered statements. The prospect of restarting the Middle East peace process was addressed by both leaders.
Abbas said he would "keep the door open to dialogue with our Israeli neighbors," and repeated demands that Israel recognize a Palestinian state and establish a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem.
"Our problem is not with the Jewish religion,” Abbas said, “it's with the occupation and settlements, and with Israel not recognizing the state of Palestine."
The meeting between Trump and Abbas comes a day after Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, where the peace process was also discussed.
“President Abbas assures me he is ready to work towards that goal in good faith,” Trump said, “and Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu has promised the same.”
"I am committed to trying to achieve a peace agreement between the Israelis and the Palestinians," he said. "I look forward to working with these leaders for lasting peace."
On Monday, Netanyahu praised Trump’s visit and said he was optimistic about “real hope for change” in the Middle East.
None of the leaders mentioned any specifics in terms of next steps toward reaching a peace deal.
Abbas, speaking first, condemned the "horrible terrorist attack that occurred in the city of Manchester."
Trump said the people responsible for the attack were "evil losers in life."
"I won't call them 'monsters,' because they would like that term." Trump said.
Trump called it "interesting" that the attack in the UK occurred as he and other Muslim and Arab leaders, including Abbas, were engaged in talks about fighting extremist violence.
Later on Tuesday, Trump traveled back to Jerusalem to visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial. He called on the world to always remember the Holocaust, which he called "history's darkest hour."
He and Netanyahu both delivered speeches to a group of Israelis at the museum, reiterating their hopes for peace.
Trump is scheduled to travel from Israel to Rome for a meeting with Pope Francis on Wednesday. He’s due to meet EU leaders in Brussels on Thursday and attend a G7 summit in Sicily on Friday and Saturday.
mz/rt (AFP, AP)
Trump's Middle East visit - awaited with skepticism and hope
As US President Donald Trump makes his first international trip, residents of the Middle East from all walks of life share what they expect of him.
Image: Reuters/F. Al Nasser
Nayef al-Hayzan in Saudi Arabia: 'Will have positive impact'
US President Trump visits two bastions of relative calm in the war-battered Middle East: Saudi Arabia and Israel. In a café in Riyadh, Nayef al-Hayzan explained why he is confident about the US president's trip: "I expect that Trump's visit will have a positive impact on the Saudi economy, and discussions are expected to tackle the problems in Syria."
In Jerusalem, Israel, falafel shop owner Ovad Chen has a more fatalistic view: "I see myself as a very simple person and I believe that at the end of the day, God controls everything. Therefore, it doesn’t really matter what Trump is saying or doing in the Middle East or anywhere else."
Image: Reuters/N. Elias
Iraqi fighter Ali Bassem: 'He is a hero'
All 50 Muslim states whose leaders Trump will meet in the Saudi capital are menaced by the rise of the so-called Islamic State. Ali Bassem, an Iraqi fighter the on the frontline in Mosul is enthusiastic: "He is a hero. He got [IS] out of Iraq. He is cooperative with the Iraqi people and we and the Americans are one nation. We are brothers."
Image: Reuters/D. Siddiqui
Pub owner Somar Hazim in Damascus: 'No clear methodology'
In his pub in Damascus, Syria, Somar Hazim explained his views: "His Syria policy is based on interests, in the sense that there's no clear methodology. As for the issue of arming the Kurds, I do not oppose this as long as the goal is fighting a common enemy of the Syrian state, which is [IS], provided that these weapons are not exploited to create a partitioned idea of Syria."
Image: Reuters/O. Sanadiki
Sherine Haji in Syria: 'I am worried for my people'
Sherine Haji, a female fighter in the Kurdish YPG militia rests in a hospital in Syria. She has a more critical view: "The plan to arm the YPG is a decision taken late. If this support was happening in the first place, the advances would have been quicker. Now I'm wounded, I've lost two legs, I'm worried for my people. This must end, there must be a free and peaceful life in this country."
Image: Reuters/R. Said
Anonymous female fighter in the Gaza strip: 'A man of war'
An anonymous female fighter from the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), in the southern Gaza Strip remarked: "Trump is a man of war, he works on spreading war, chaos and killing among people. Like other presidents who came before him, I do not see he will bring about peace or any good to the Palestinian people. I see that there is another war coming."
Image: Reuters/I. A. Mustafa
Marla Awad from Syria on the travel ban 'very bad decision'
Attitudes are also colored by the actions of Trump's first months in power, among them his attempt to ban citizens of some mostly Muslim countries from traveling to the US. Marla Awad from Damascus was upset: "What matters to me was one very bad decision - his refusal to allow Syrians to immigrate to America is racist. Traveling was a dream of mine to fulfill my ambitions to study and work."
Image: Reuters/O. Sanadiki
Student Mubarak Mashali in Egypt: 'Things will get worse'
In Egypt, Mubarak Mashali, a student at Cairo University, was very skeptical, "I think Trump is going to ruin things and make them worse than they already are throughout the whole Middle East."
Image: Reuters/M. A. El Ghany
Sattar Muhsin Ali in Baghdad: 'Trump's policy will hold positive elements'
A different attitude was expressed by Sattar Muhsin Ali in his store in Baghdad, Iraq: "I think the core policy of Trump is focusing on eliminating terrorism and drying out its financial sources in the world and curbing the terror-supporting states. Iraq suffered a lot from the policy of former American administrations which led to the spread of chaos and finally to the emergence of [IS]."
Image: Reuters/T. Al-Sudani
Dates seller Djamel Bouktech in Algeria: 'Will always be friends'
In Algiers, Algeria, dates seller Djamel Bouktech is pragmatic: "I think it's just a simple courtesy visit because the Arabs of the Middle East are and will always be friends and strong allies of the USA. This will have a positive effect for the allies and a negative for the others in the Middle East in the long term because of the fragility of the region."
Image: Reuters/R. Boudina
Refugee Lara Shahin hopes for a 'return to a democratic country'
Trump's decision to launch cruise missiles against a Syrian airbase to punish Damascus for a chemical weapons attack was analyzed by Lara Shahin in Amman: "Trump's decision to strike at the airbase was a surprise move that raised my hopes the US president will take bolder decisions in the future that would end President Bashar al-Assad's rule and allow me to return home to a democratic country."
Image: Reuters/M. Hamed
George Gharib in Lebanon: 'Trump will be like all previous presidents'
In his shop in Beirut, Lebanon, George Gharib doesn't expect much: "I do not expect any change in American policies towards the region, especially since President Trump is committed to moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem and there is no intention to
pressure Israel. He will be like all previous presidents who came before him
with bias and abiding by Israeli interests."
