During a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, President Donald Trump doubled down on his administration’s recent threats to sever aid for Palestinian refugees if Palestinian leaders continued to refuse peace talks with Israel.
In addition to peace talks, Trump demanded that Palestinians show respect to the U.S. or lose funding. He cited Palestinians’ refusal to visit with Vice President Mike Pence during his visit last week as one of many examples.
We give them hundreds of millions of dollars in aid and support, tremendous numbers, numbers that nobody understands, Trump said. That money is on the table and that money is not going to them unless they sit down and negotiate peace.
Before any talks can take place, Trump added, Palestinians have to respect the process also, and they have to respect the fact that the U.S. has given tremendous support to them over the years in terms of monetary support and other support.
The president also noted that plans to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem will proceed as planned, perhaps even sooner than expected. Trump’s public acknowledgement of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel resulted in widespread backlash throughout much of the Islamic world. Trump rebuked Palestinians Thursday, saying that they have still “not gotten past Jerusalem.
Netanyahu agreed: Under any peace agreement, the capital of Israel will continue to be in Jerusalem.
What else did Netanyahu have to say?
The meeting was the first time the two leaders had met since Trump announced plans to move the embassy to Jerusalem, which Netanyahu described as a historic decision that will be forever etched in the hearts of our people for generations to come.
By recognizing history, you’ve made history, and we will always remember that, the prime minister added.
Netanyahu also commended Trump’s stance on Iran and the Iran Nuclear Deal, saying, You’ve said it’s a disastrous deal. You said that if its fatal flaws are not fixed, you should walk away from it. And I want you to know that if you decide to do that, then we will back you all the way.
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