Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a meeting last night in New York city with US President Donald Trump, during which the two leaders discussed regional challenges, including the growing threats posed to Israel by the Islamic Republic of Iran and its proxies, Washington’s aspiration to restart the long-stalled negotiations for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as well as the fight against the Islamic State across the region. Ahead of their meeting, which lasted about one hour, both leaders reaffirmed the strong alliance between Washington and Jerusalem, which both Netanyahu and Trump emphasized was “stronger than ever under the Trump Administration.”
President Donald Trump took the opportunity to emphasize that his administration was giving peace between Israel and the Palestinians “an absolute go,” believing there is a “good chance” for both sides to reach an agreement.
The comments by President Trump did not impress the Palestinian leadership, however, as the American leader is due to meet with his Palestinian counterpart, Mahmoud Abbas, later today. A senior Palestinian source assessed that no political breakthrough was likely as the Trump administration had still not formulated a concrete plan for resuming the long-stalled negotiations, and did not have a clear vision on this issue.
Meanwhile, it should be noted that two of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ close advisers were seen speaking at length with Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories Major General Yoav Mordechai at an annual conference of Palestinian Authority donor-states in New York.