President Donald Trump has cast a doubt on Israel’s readiness to make peace with Palestinians saying that the settlement scheme of the Jewish state in the West Bank makes peace prospects more complicated.
In an interview published Sunday by Israeli right wing media, freebie daily Israel Hayom, President Trump, in a rare tilt to Israel, indicated that he was not sure Tel Aviv was inclined to discuss peace with Palestinians. The American President who also expressed doubts about the Palestinians’ willingness to make peace, indirectly attacked Israel’s continued and unlawful settlements in the West Bank.
“The settlements are something that very much complicates and always have complicated making peace, so I think Israel has to be very careful with the settlements,” Trump said.
The Trump administration, unlike Obama’s administration, supports the occupation.
Efforts by the White House to bring Palestinians and Israelis to negotiations have been damaged significantly after the US President in December declared Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Palestinians and the majority of the Arab and Muslim world condemned the recognition.
Palestinians have condemned the decision as unilateral and Israel-biased as it violates UN resolutions and accords calling for negotiation between Palestinians and Israelis to define the borders of the holy city. Palestinians hope to declare Eastern Jerusalem the capital of their future state.
The Palestinians rejected the US-endorsed peace efforts. Mahmoud Abbas, leader of the Palestinian Authority (PA) has embarked on an international diplomatic frenzy in a move to woo Russia, China, and the EU to replace the US as peace broker.
