Obviously, this could be no farther from the truth then it already is. This is simply due to the fact that the PLO, or any other arab nation for that matter, has never been willing to make a single compromise for the sake of peace...
Mahmoud Abbas to meet U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington Wednesday • Abbas expected to argue that Israeli economic gestures are no alternative to talks on two-state solution • U.S. official warns: The president is not super patient.
Associated Press and Israel Hayom Staff
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas at the Arab League summit in Jordan, in March | Photo credit: AP
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ relief at being invited to the White House is now clouded by concerns he might have to say no to U.S. President Donald Trump in their first meeting Wednesday.
Palestinians fear Trump will ask Abbas to halt stipends for families of Palestinians killed or jailed in the context of the conflict with Israel, and a senior U.S. official said Tuesday that such a request was raised in preparatory talks with Palestinian officials. Israel considers such payments a reward for terrorists, but stopping them seems untenable to Abbas, especially at a time of broad Palestinian support for a mass hunger strike of prisoners held by Israel.
The importance of the meeting lies with the fact that a solid relationship with the U.S. forms the core of Abbas’ strategy of setting up a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem. The 82-year-old leader has stuck to this approach despite repeated failures of U.S.-led negotiations with Israel and growing doubts that a partition remains possible.
Trump ignored the Palestinians early in his presidency, while appearing to side with Israel on key issues. Being shunned by the U.S. would undercut Abbas’ remaining political legitimacy just as polls show two-thirds of Palestinians want him to resign. Abbas has been in power since 2005, and new elections were blocked partly because of a rivalry with the Hamas terrorist group.
Trump seems eager to broker an Israeli-Palestinian deal — and some hold out hope that his freewheeling style might succeed where more orthodox diplomacy has failed.
On Tuesday, National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster told an Israel Independence Day celebration in Washington that Trump “does not have time to debate over doctrine” and was instead seeking to challenge failed policies of the past with a businessman’s results-oriented approach.
“The president is not a super-patient man,” McMaster said. “Some people have described him as disruptive. They’re right. And this is good — good because we can no longer afford to invest in policies that do not advance the interests and values of the United States and our allies.”
Abbas aides say he will try to win Trump’s support for an Arab League peace plan offering Israel normalization with the Arab and Muslim world if it allows a Palestinian state along the 1967 lines. The plan was reaffirmed in March at an Arab summit and would block efforts by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to seek normalization with some Arab countries ahead of a Palestinian deal.
Abbas will also argue that Israeli economic gestures toward the Palestinians, recently encouraged by the U.S., are no alternative to negotiations on a two-state solution.
Wide gaps between Abbas and Netanyahu on the framework of a future deal have prevented serious negotiations since 2009. If pressed, Abbas might reluctantly agree to a one-off meeting with Netanyahu, Palestinian officials suggest.
Prospects for renewed talks are sketchy, though. The Trump administration previously tried to win a commitment from Netanyahu to curb settlement building on lands sought for a Palestinian state. Netanyahu reportedly agreed only to a vague slowdown.
A White House official said that while the existence of settlements is not an impediment to peace, “further unrestrained settlement activity” does not help advance peace. The administration believes a solution cannot be imposed on the two sides, said the official.
Israel has pressed demands that Abbas halt monthly stipends for the families of thousands of Palestinians killed or jailed as part of the conflict, including those who killed or wounded Israelis.
“How can you speak about peace with Israel while you finance murderers who shed the blood of innocent Israelis at every opportunity?” Netanyahu asked in a speech this week.
The U.S. official said Tuesday that the issue came up in talks with senior Palestinian officials, with the administration asking that the payments be halted. He said the issue will be a focus during Abbas’ visit.
Earlier Tuesday, three Republican senators urged a halt to such payments in a letter that reflected widespread opinion on the Hill.
Palestinians see the stipends as welfare payments to “victims of the occupation.” While they are split on whether violence is effective or acceptable, Palestinians overwhelmingly view anyone killed in conflict with Israel, including attackers, as freedom fighters rather than terrorists.
Abbas adviser Nabil Shaath said the Palestinian leader cannot budge on the issue.
Still, the issue of whether Abbas can even commit to anything on behalf of the Palestinian people as a whole remains unclear.
Hamas’ violent takeover of Gaza in 2006 led to the formation of rival Palestinian governments, and a decade and several failed reconciliation attempts later, Abbas has been stepping up financial pressure in recent weeks, slashing wage and aid payments to Gaza. With this tough new approach, Abbas can tell Trump that he has leverage and is ready to use it against Hamas.
Hamas routinely portrays Abbas’ efforts to reach statehood through U.S.-brokered negotiations with Israel as a waste of time. Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said this week that Abbas markets an illusion and lacks legitimacy to represent the Palestinian people.
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