23 aug 2018

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) currently faces a budget deficit of $270 million, which could cause serious consequences for the humanitarian situation in the region.
During a UN security council meeting, UN Deputy Secretary General for Political Affairs Rosemary Anne DeCarlo said, “We always take note of the unprecedented financial problems that UNRWA has faced.”
DeCarlo stressed, according to Ma’an, “The Secretary-General warned that if we cannot cover UNRWA’s budget deficit of $270 million, we will face serious repercussions regarding the humanitarian situation, which will negatively affect the stability of the region.”
DeCarlo called on the international community to make every effort to meet UNRWA’s budget deficit.
This comes after the United States announced, in mid-January, the reduction of financial support to UNRWA from $350 million to $60 million, in order “to urge the Palestinians to resume negotiations with Israel.”
Following the U.S. decision, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and other State Department officials, warned that such a move would create a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Jordan and the occupied West Bank.
The contributions from the U.S. made up a third of the agency’s budget, according to UNRWA’s website.
During a UN security council meeting, UN Deputy Secretary General for Political Affairs Rosemary Anne DeCarlo said, “We always take note of the unprecedented financial problems that UNRWA has faced.”
DeCarlo stressed, according to Ma’an, “The Secretary-General warned that if we cannot cover UNRWA’s budget deficit of $270 million, we will face serious repercussions regarding the humanitarian situation, which will negatively affect the stability of the region.”
DeCarlo called on the international community to make every effort to meet UNRWA’s budget deficit.
This comes after the United States announced, in mid-January, the reduction of financial support to UNRWA from $350 million to $60 million, in order “to urge the Palestinians to resume negotiations with Israel.”
Following the U.S. decision, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and other State Department officials, warned that such a move would create a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Jordan and the occupied West Bank.
The contributions from the U.S. made up a third of the agency’s budget, according to UNRWA’s website.

Dr. Saeb Erekat, a member of the Executive Committee of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) strongly denounced Israel’s approval of hundreds of new units in its illegal colonies in the occupied West Bank, and said the move is an outcome of the American greed, and the U.S. support to Israel’s apartheid policies.
Dr. Erekat said the U.S. Administration of President Donald Trump is not only silent about Israel’s violations, but also encourages them with the constant financial, political and military support.
“America’s silence, and the failure to condemn the illegal Israeli colonialist activities in occupied Palestine, are a green light to Tel Aviv to continue its violation of International Law,” Dr. Erekat stated, “Such violations, and the American support to them, threatens the stability of the entire region, and the efforts to achieve a lasting peace and security.”
The Palestinian official added that Israel must be held accountable for its violations, instead of being encouraged and supported as it continues its crimes.
Furthermore, Dr. Erekat said that last week’s report, which was published by the United Nations Secretary General regarding providing international protection to the Palestinian people, also called for holding those who violate the International Humanitarian Law accountable for their crimes.
“Israel’s ongoing construction and expansion of its illegal colonies in occupied Palestine does not only violate International Law, but is also a war crime that would not have been committed without the silence of the International Community, and the American support which regards Israel as a state above the law.”
Dr. Erekat called on the International Community to impose sanctions on Israel until it implements its responsibilities and commitments under International Law, and all resolutions by the United Nations.
Dr. Erekat said the U.S. Administration of President Donald Trump is not only silent about Israel’s violations, but also encourages them with the constant financial, political and military support.
“America’s silence, and the failure to condemn the illegal Israeli colonialist activities in occupied Palestine, are a green light to Tel Aviv to continue its violation of International Law,” Dr. Erekat stated, “Such violations, and the American support to them, threatens the stability of the entire region, and the efforts to achieve a lasting peace and security.”
The Palestinian official added that Israel must be held accountable for its violations, instead of being encouraged and supported as it continues its crimes.
Furthermore, Dr. Erekat said that last week’s report, which was published by the United Nations Secretary General regarding providing international protection to the Palestinian people, also called for holding those who violate the International Humanitarian Law accountable for their crimes.
“Israel’s ongoing construction and expansion of its illegal colonies in occupied Palestine does not only violate International Law, but is also a war crime that would not have been committed without the silence of the International Community, and the American support which regards Israel as a state above the law.”
Dr. Erekat called on the International Community to impose sanctions on Israel until it implements its responsibilities and commitments under International Law, and all resolutions by the United Nations.
22 aug 2018

Secretary of the Executive Committee for Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Dr. Saeb Erekat, responded to statements by US President Donald Trump and his National Security Advisor, John Bolton, about the removal of Jerusalem from the negotiating table in the future by saying that there is no price for Jerusalem.
Erekat added, in the response PNN received by email, that without East Jerusalem, including the Holy Haram, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, its old town and its walls, as the Palestine capital, there will be no meaning of Palestinian state.
He also stated that Trump, Bolton and Netanyahu must understand that there will no peace without East Jerusalem as the capital of the state of Palestine, based on the 1967 borders.
Erekat called on all Palestinian political factions to give priority to the supreme interests of the Palestinian people and to achieve reconciliation, including the truce based on the Egyptian initiative, depends on indirect negotiations between the PLO & Israel to reach a truce agreement similar to the 2014 agreement.
Erekat said that those who agree to a truce without national consensus are engaged with Netanyahu and Trump to pass the deal of the century, which seeks to destroy the Palestinian national project.
Trump says Israel will ‘pay a higher price’ after Jerusalem embassy move
US President Donald Trump said, last night, that Israel will “pay a higher price” in peace talks with Palestinians, following his decision to move the American embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.
Speaking at a political rally in West Virginia, Trump said Palestinians “will get something very good” after the embassy move, “because it’s their turn next”.
Trump told the West Virginia crowd that the embassy move was an important step towards a peace deal. “If there’s ever going to be peace with the Palestinians, then this was a good thing to have done,” he said. “We took it off the table. In past negotiations, they never got past Jerusalem. Now Israel will have to pay a higher price, because it’s off the table. The Palestinians will get something very good, cause it’s their turn next.”
Trump said he had received numerous phone calls from world leaders urging him not to go through with his plans to move the US embassy to Jerusalem, adding that he “now understands” why previous US presidents had not followed through on similar promises. “But, I approved it, and it should have been done years ago,” he said. Trump also described the Israeli-Palestinian peace deal as “the toughest of them all.”
US National Security Adviser John Bolton said on Wednesday, at a press conference in Jerusalem, that the Trump administration is continuing its work on a plan for a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians. But he added that, while there has been “a lot of progress in the region”, no timetable had been set for announcing a deal.
Bolton clarified that Trump’s “higher price” comment was “not an issue of quid pro quo”. He said that he and others would expect Palestinians to say “So, we didn’t get that one, now we want something else,” adding that “ultimately this is something the parties are going to have to agree on.”
Erekat added, in the response PNN received by email, that without East Jerusalem, including the Holy Haram, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, its old town and its walls, as the Palestine capital, there will be no meaning of Palestinian state.
He also stated that Trump, Bolton and Netanyahu must understand that there will no peace without East Jerusalem as the capital of the state of Palestine, based on the 1967 borders.
Erekat called on all Palestinian political factions to give priority to the supreme interests of the Palestinian people and to achieve reconciliation, including the truce based on the Egyptian initiative, depends on indirect negotiations between the PLO & Israel to reach a truce agreement similar to the 2014 agreement.
Erekat said that those who agree to a truce without national consensus are engaged with Netanyahu and Trump to pass the deal of the century, which seeks to destroy the Palestinian national project.
Trump says Israel will ‘pay a higher price’ after Jerusalem embassy move
US President Donald Trump said, last night, that Israel will “pay a higher price” in peace talks with Palestinians, following his decision to move the American embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.
Speaking at a political rally in West Virginia, Trump said Palestinians “will get something very good” after the embassy move, “because it’s their turn next”.
Trump told the West Virginia crowd that the embassy move was an important step towards a peace deal. “If there’s ever going to be peace with the Palestinians, then this was a good thing to have done,” he said. “We took it off the table. In past negotiations, they never got past Jerusalem. Now Israel will have to pay a higher price, because it’s off the table. The Palestinians will get something very good, cause it’s their turn next.”
Trump said he had received numerous phone calls from world leaders urging him not to go through with his plans to move the US embassy to Jerusalem, adding that he “now understands” why previous US presidents had not followed through on similar promises. “But, I approved it, and it should have been done years ago,” he said. Trump also described the Israeli-Palestinian peace deal as “the toughest of them all.”
US National Security Adviser John Bolton said on Wednesday, at a press conference in Jerusalem, that the Trump administration is continuing its work on a plan for a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians. But he added that, while there has been “a lot of progress in the region”, no timetable had been set for announcing a deal.
Bolton clarified that Trump’s “higher price” comment was “not an issue of quid pro quo”. He said that he and others would expect Palestinians to say “So, we didn’t get that one, now we want something else,” adding that “ultimately this is something the parties are going to have to agree on.”

After US president says Israel will pay a 'higher price' in peace negotiations in exchange for December declaration, national security advisor tells Journalists in Jerusalem that move was never intended to solicit concessions from Israel, but parties will ‘decide between themselves what the price of that, if anything, was’; says no timetable set for unveiling peace plan.
US National Security Advisor John Bolton said on Wednesday that recent comments by President Donald Trump that Israel would have to pay a “higher price” in future peace negotiations in return for his recognition of Jerusalem as the country’s capital, were not intended to indicate that the December declaration was “an issue of quid pro quo.”
Speaking at a press conference in Jerusalem’s King David Hotel during his diplomatic visit to Israel to discuss a range of Middle East issues, Bolton was asked to address Trump’s comments in a speech delivered at a campaign rally in Charleston, West Virginia in which he said “But they’ll (Palestinians) get something very good because it’s their turn next. Let’s see what happens."
Bolton, however, attempted to clarify Trump’s position about what the “higher price” may entail.
“As a dealmaker, as a bargainer, he would expect, you would expect, I would expect that the Palestinians would say ‘OK, great. So, we didn't get that one and now we want something else. And we’ll see how it goes,” Bolton responded.
“But the fundamental point is that ultimately this is something that the parties are going to have to agree on … When the parties talk about it and agree, they’ll decide between themselves what the price of that, if anything, was.”
Bolton also said that there is currently no timetable for releasing the administration's much-anticipated Mideast peace plan, despite repeated reports that the US’s unveilng of the plan is imminent.
While he said that a "lot of progress" has been made, Bolton refused to speculate what the plan entailed or when it may be publicized.
The Trump administration recently began staffing its Mideast policy team ahead of the plan's expected release.
Trump officials have long promised the most comprehensive package ever put forward toward resolving the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
The Palestinians have indicated they consider it a non-starter given what they describe as Trump's bias toward Israel and his unilateral recognition of Jerusalem as its capital in December last year.
“I think there’s been a lot of progress on relations in the region as a result of the process of going through the possible outlines of what the plan would look like," Bolton said.
"I think there are have been dramatic geo-strategic changes in the Middle East with the recognition that the Iran nuclear deal has failed and failed badly.
And so that gives the possibility of alignment with Israel and many of its Arab neighbors that nobody would have predicted years before," he continued.
Turning to the US’s decision to reimpose sanctions on Iran which went into effect this month after President Trump pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal in May, Bolton insisted that the measures were not intended to set the wheels in motion for a regime change in Iran.
"Just to be clear, regime change in Iran is not American policy. But what we want is massive change in the regime's behaviour," Bolton said.
Bolton, who has in the past suggested the US government should push for a change in government in Iran, said in May that that was not part of the Trump administration's policy.
The Iran nuclear deal, Bolton argued, “gave this regime that’s been the central banker of international terrorism since 1979, new assets that it could use for its nuclear weapons program, for its ballistic missiles program, for its terrorist support activities, for its conventional military activities.”
The US sanctions, he noted, are having a strong effect on Iran's economy and popular opinion
The US turnaround ojn the nuclear deal outraged Iran, which has taken a defiant stance, and has rattled other world powers where some businesses have been debating whether to divest from the Islamic Republic.
"Let me be clear, the reimposition of the sanctions, we think, is already having a significant effect on Iran's economy and on, really, popular opinion inside Iran," Bolton told Reuters in a separate interview.
The Iranian economy has been beset by high unemployment and inflation and a rial currency that has lost half its value since April. The reimposition of sanctions could make matters worse.
Thousands of Iranians have protested against sharp price rises of some food items, a lack of jobs and state corruption. The protests over the cost of living have often turned into anti-government rallies.
"I think the effects, the economic effects certainly, are even stronger than we anticipated," Bolton said.
"But Iranian activity in the region has continued to be belligerent: what they are doing in Iraq, what they are doing in Syria, what they are doing with Hezbollah in Lebanon, what they are doing in Yemen, what they have threatened to do in the Strait of Hormuz."
The Strait is a strategic waterway for oil shipments which Iran's Revolutionary Guards have threatened to block in response to Trump administration calls to ban all Iranian oil exports.
US National Security Advisor John Bolton said on Wednesday that recent comments by President Donald Trump that Israel would have to pay a “higher price” in future peace negotiations in return for his recognition of Jerusalem as the country’s capital, were not intended to indicate that the December declaration was “an issue of quid pro quo.”
Speaking at a press conference in Jerusalem’s King David Hotel during his diplomatic visit to Israel to discuss a range of Middle East issues, Bolton was asked to address Trump’s comments in a speech delivered at a campaign rally in Charleston, West Virginia in which he said “But they’ll (Palestinians) get something very good because it’s their turn next. Let’s see what happens."
Bolton, however, attempted to clarify Trump’s position about what the “higher price” may entail.
“As a dealmaker, as a bargainer, he would expect, you would expect, I would expect that the Palestinians would say ‘OK, great. So, we didn't get that one and now we want something else. And we’ll see how it goes,” Bolton responded.
“But the fundamental point is that ultimately this is something that the parties are going to have to agree on … When the parties talk about it and agree, they’ll decide between themselves what the price of that, if anything, was.”
Bolton also said that there is currently no timetable for releasing the administration's much-anticipated Mideast peace plan, despite repeated reports that the US’s unveilng of the plan is imminent.
While he said that a "lot of progress" has been made, Bolton refused to speculate what the plan entailed or when it may be publicized.
The Trump administration recently began staffing its Mideast policy team ahead of the plan's expected release.
Trump officials have long promised the most comprehensive package ever put forward toward resolving the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
The Palestinians have indicated they consider it a non-starter given what they describe as Trump's bias toward Israel and his unilateral recognition of Jerusalem as its capital in December last year.
“I think there’s been a lot of progress on relations in the region as a result of the process of going through the possible outlines of what the plan would look like," Bolton said.
"I think there are have been dramatic geo-strategic changes in the Middle East with the recognition that the Iran nuclear deal has failed and failed badly.
And so that gives the possibility of alignment with Israel and many of its Arab neighbors that nobody would have predicted years before," he continued.
Turning to the US’s decision to reimpose sanctions on Iran which went into effect this month after President Trump pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal in May, Bolton insisted that the measures were not intended to set the wheels in motion for a regime change in Iran.
"Just to be clear, regime change in Iran is not American policy. But what we want is massive change in the regime's behaviour," Bolton said.
Bolton, who has in the past suggested the US government should push for a change in government in Iran, said in May that that was not part of the Trump administration's policy.
The Iran nuclear deal, Bolton argued, “gave this regime that’s been the central banker of international terrorism since 1979, new assets that it could use for its nuclear weapons program, for its ballistic missiles program, for its terrorist support activities, for its conventional military activities.”
The US sanctions, he noted, are having a strong effect on Iran's economy and popular opinion
The US turnaround ojn the nuclear deal outraged Iran, which has taken a defiant stance, and has rattled other world powers where some businesses have been debating whether to divest from the Islamic Republic.
"Let me be clear, the reimposition of the sanctions, we think, is already having a significant effect on Iran's economy and on, really, popular opinion inside Iran," Bolton told Reuters in a separate interview.
The Iranian economy has been beset by high unemployment and inflation and a rial currency that has lost half its value since April. The reimposition of sanctions could make matters worse.
Thousands of Iranians have protested against sharp price rises of some food items, a lack of jobs and state corruption. The protests over the cost of living have often turned into anti-government rallies.
"I think the effects, the economic effects certainly, are even stronger than we anticipated," Bolton said.
"But Iranian activity in the region has continued to be belligerent: what they are doing in Iraq, what they are doing in Syria, what they are doing with Hezbollah in Lebanon, what they are doing in Yemen, what they have threatened to do in the Strait of Hormuz."
The Strait is a strategic waterway for oil shipments which Iran's Revolutionary Guards have threatened to block in response to Trump administration calls to ban all Iranian oil exports.

US national security advisor says Washington understands 'the Israeli claim that it has annexed the Golan Heights' but 'there's no change in the US position for now'; charges that UNRWA 'violates standard international law on the status of refugees.'
The Trump administration is not discussing possible US recognition of Israel's claim of sovereignty over the Golan Heights, US National Security Adviser John Bolton said.
Israel captured much of the Golan from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War and annexed it in a move not endorsed internationally.
In May, Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz said that US recognition could be forthcoming within months.
"I've heard the idea being suggested but there's no discussion of it, no decision within the US government," Bolton told Reuters during a visit to Israel.
"Obviously we understand the Israeli claim that it has annexed the Golan Heights—we understand their position—but there's no change in the US position for now."
Palestinians seek other territories that Israel captured in 1967—the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem—for a future state. US-backed talks on that goal stalled in 2014.
The Trump administration has tried to restart the diplomacy but has been cold-shouldered by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas since it recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital last December.
Washington has also signaled possible accommodation with Israel's West Bank settlements, dropping the term "occupied" from some US documentation about the territory. Most world powers deem the settlements illegal.
Asked whether the Trump administration envisaged Palestinian statehood as the way forward, Bolton sounded circumspect.
"I think it's been the US view for a long time that ultimately Israelis and Palestinians are going to have to agree on this," he said. "Nobody's going to impose a peace in that respect."
Whether peace talks with Abbas could resume was "up to him," Bolton said.
The Trump adviser was more forthright about Washington's trimming of funds for United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which extends aid to Palestinians displaced by the 1948 War of Independence and to millions of their descendants.
"UNRWA is a failed mechanism. It violates standard international law on the status of refugees. UNRWA's program is the only one in history based on the assumption that refugee status is hereditary, and I think it is long overdue that we have taken steps to reduce funding," Bolton said.
UNRWA and the Palestinians have warned that the cuts could exacerbate hardship in Gaza, an enclave that has been under Israeli and Egypt blockades designed to isolate its Islamist Hamas rulers. Abbas, Hamas' Palestinian rival, has also restricted funding to Gaza.
Bolton, a former US ambassador to the United Nations, sought to place the onus for Gaza's plight on Hamas, and disputed the linkage between the UNRWA budget and Palestinian wellbeing.
"Much of UNRWA's expenses really go to perpetuating the refugee status of the Palestinian people, and I think that's a mistake. I think it's a mistake from a humanitarian point of view ... a perpetuation of an unnatural status," he said.
"I think what we want to see for Palestinians is real, gainful employment," Bolton said, echoing calls by Washington and Israel for economic betterment of the West Bank and Gaza. "Unless you have functioning economies, you are never going to have social and political stability."
The Trump administration is not discussing possible US recognition of Israel's claim of sovereignty over the Golan Heights, US National Security Adviser John Bolton said.
Israel captured much of the Golan from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War and annexed it in a move not endorsed internationally.
In May, Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz said that US recognition could be forthcoming within months.
"I've heard the idea being suggested but there's no discussion of it, no decision within the US government," Bolton told Reuters during a visit to Israel.
"Obviously we understand the Israeli claim that it has annexed the Golan Heights—we understand their position—but there's no change in the US position for now."
Palestinians seek other territories that Israel captured in 1967—the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem—for a future state. US-backed talks on that goal stalled in 2014.
The Trump administration has tried to restart the diplomacy but has been cold-shouldered by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas since it recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital last December.
Washington has also signaled possible accommodation with Israel's West Bank settlements, dropping the term "occupied" from some US documentation about the territory. Most world powers deem the settlements illegal.
Asked whether the Trump administration envisaged Palestinian statehood as the way forward, Bolton sounded circumspect.
"I think it's been the US view for a long time that ultimately Israelis and Palestinians are going to have to agree on this," he said. "Nobody's going to impose a peace in that respect."
Whether peace talks with Abbas could resume was "up to him," Bolton said.
The Trump adviser was more forthright about Washington's trimming of funds for United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which extends aid to Palestinians displaced by the 1948 War of Independence and to millions of their descendants.
"UNRWA is a failed mechanism. It violates standard international law on the status of refugees. UNRWA's program is the only one in history based on the assumption that refugee status is hereditary, and I think it is long overdue that we have taken steps to reduce funding," Bolton said.
UNRWA and the Palestinians have warned that the cuts could exacerbate hardship in Gaza, an enclave that has been under Israeli and Egypt blockades designed to isolate its Islamist Hamas rulers. Abbas, Hamas' Palestinian rival, has also restricted funding to Gaza.
Bolton, a former US ambassador to the United Nations, sought to place the onus for Gaza's plight on Hamas, and disputed the linkage between the UNRWA budget and Palestinian wellbeing.
"Much of UNRWA's expenses really go to perpetuating the refugee status of the Palestinian people, and I think that's a mistake. I think it's a mistake from a humanitarian point of view ... a perpetuation of an unnatural status," he said.
"I think what we want to see for Palestinians is real, gainful employment," Bolton said, echoing calls by Washington and Israel for economic betterment of the West Bank and Gaza. "Unless you have functioning economies, you are never going to have social and political stability."

Addressing crowds at a campaign rally in Charleston, West Virginia, US president explains his recognition of the city as Israel's capital was necessary for future negotiations, but that Israel would be expected to make heavy concessions 'because they won a very big thing'; adds Palestinians will 'get something very good because it’s their turn next.'
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Israel would “have to pay a higher price” in negotiations with the Palestinians in return for his December recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
Addressing crowds at a campaign rally in Charleston, West Virginia, President Trump received rapturous applause from his supporters as he reminded the audience of his decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital and to move the US Embassy to the city in May this year.
While claiming that he had “taken Jerusalem off the table” despite being “inundated with calls” from foreign leaders urging him not to make his expected declaration, Trump made clear that the Israelis would be expected to make heavy compromises in future negotiations.
“And if there’s ever going to be peace—remember I said it—with the Palestinians it was a good thing to have done because we took it off the table because every time there were peace talks, they never got past Jerusalem becoming their capital, so I said let’s take it off the table,” Trump said, explaining his strategy.
“And you know what, in the negotiation, Israel will have to pay a higher price because they won a very big thing, but I took it off the table,” he continued.
Repeating several times that he had removed Jerusalem from becoming an obstacle to successful negotiations, Trump stated that the Palestinians would soon reap the benefits of the move.
“But they’ll get something very good because it’s their turn next. Let’s see what happens."
The president also criticized his predecessors for failing to deliver campaign promises to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and to move the embassy to Jerusalem.
“And I understand now what happened. Because every president—many, many presidents—they said ‘we’re going to do it. We’re going to move our embassy to Jerusalem. It’s going to be the capital of Israel. We’re going to do it, we’re going to do it’ and then they don’t do it. Politicians, they don’t do it. So I said I’m going to do it,” the president said.
Trump further described the pressure that world leaders attempt to apply ahead of his declaration.
“And I now understand why many presidents before me said they were going to do it and didn’t do it. Because I was inundated with calls from foreign leaders. Every country: ‘Don’t do it, don’t do it, don’t do it, please don’t do it, don’t do it!’
“So actually what I did, I was about five days off I stopped taking calls I said I’ll call you back next week. Because I knew what they were going to ask me.”
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Israel would “have to pay a higher price” in negotiations with the Palestinians in return for his December recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
Addressing crowds at a campaign rally in Charleston, West Virginia, President Trump received rapturous applause from his supporters as he reminded the audience of his decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital and to move the US Embassy to the city in May this year.
While claiming that he had “taken Jerusalem off the table” despite being “inundated with calls” from foreign leaders urging him not to make his expected declaration, Trump made clear that the Israelis would be expected to make heavy compromises in future negotiations.
“And if there’s ever going to be peace—remember I said it—with the Palestinians it was a good thing to have done because we took it off the table because every time there were peace talks, they never got past Jerusalem becoming their capital, so I said let’s take it off the table,” Trump said, explaining his strategy.
“And you know what, in the negotiation, Israel will have to pay a higher price because they won a very big thing, but I took it off the table,” he continued.
Repeating several times that he had removed Jerusalem from becoming an obstacle to successful negotiations, Trump stated that the Palestinians would soon reap the benefits of the move.
“But they’ll get something very good because it’s their turn next. Let’s see what happens."
The president also criticized his predecessors for failing to deliver campaign promises to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and to move the embassy to Jerusalem.
“And I understand now what happened. Because every president—many, many presidents—they said ‘we’re going to do it. We’re going to move our embassy to Jerusalem. It’s going to be the capital of Israel. We’re going to do it, we’re going to do it’ and then they don’t do it. Politicians, they don’t do it. So I said I’m going to do it,” the president said.
Trump further described the pressure that world leaders attempt to apply ahead of his declaration.
“And I now understand why many presidents before me said they were going to do it and didn’t do it. Because I was inundated with calls from foreign leaders. Every country: ‘Don’t do it, don’t do it, don’t do it, please don’t do it, don’t do it!’
“So actually what I did, I was about five days off I stopped taking calls I said I’ll call you back next week. Because I knew what they were going to ask me.”