FOREIGN POLICY/ISRAEL/PALESTINE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump said Tuesday [5-23-17] that Israeli and Palestinian leaders are ready to strike a peace agreement, but both sides used the president’s visit to voice the daunting obstacles that stand in the way of reaching it.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took aim at Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, castigating him for his condemnation of Monday’s night’s bombing in Manchester while the Authority helps administer a longstanding welfare program for families of Palestinian suicide bombers and those of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails…
Standing in the West Bank town of Bethlehem beside Mr. Trump, Mr. Abbas reiterated longtime Palestinian demands for a Palestinian state alongside Israel’s, with East Jerusalem as its capital. Many lawmakers in Mr. Netanyahu’s parliamentary majority reject that position, even as a starting point for negotiations…
As he did throughout his 24-hour visit to Israel and the West Bank, Mr. Trump sought to strike a note of optimism, saying at the Israel Museum—his last scheduled appearance here before departing for Rome—that he is ‘personally committed to helping both sides reach a peace agreement.’ “
-Carol E. Lee and Rory Jones, “Trump Says U.S. Committed to Israeli and Palestinian Peace,” The Wall Street Journal online, May 23, 2017 11:57am