FOREIGN POLICY/ISRAEL/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump began a two-day visit to Israel and the West Bank on Monday [5-22-17], wading into a generations-old Middle East standoff that will pose an early test of whether his business deal-making skills can translate to the high-wire world of international diplomacy…
Mr. Netanyahu repeated his longstanding position that he ‘shares the commitment to peace’ but with the same conditions as always. ‘Israel’s hand is extended in peace to all our neighbors, including the Palestinians,’ he said. ‘The peace we seek is a genuine and durable one, in which the Israeli state is recognized, security remains in Israel’s hands, and the conflict ends once and for all.’…
But there were clashes in the West Bank as Mr. Trump arrived. More than 1,000 Palestinians marched to the Qalandiya checkpoint from Ramallah, carrying posters of Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike in Israeli prisons. Some carried pictures of Mr. Trump’s face with a red shoe print that read, in Arabic: ‘American policies are a footprint of shame on humanity’s forehead. Trump’s visit is a sale of disillusionment and a station to bypass Palestinian rights.’ “
-Peter Baker and Michael D Shear, “As Trump Arrives in Israel, His Deal-Making Skills Face a Test,” The New York Times online, May 22, 2017