Donald Trump has accused the Palestinians of "disrespecting" the US in a blow to the administration's attempt to broker peace in the region. Palestinian officials refused to meet with Mr Trump's vice president, Mike Pence, following a row over the US' controversial recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital. During a warm meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Mr Trump said he would be withholding hundreds of millions of dollars in aid from the Palestinians until they agree to US-brokered peace talks. "They disrespected us a week ago by not allowing our great vice president to see them," the US president said. "We give them hundreds of millions," Mr Trump added. "That money is not going to them unless they sit down and negotiate peace." US President Donald Trump speaks with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Credit: NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the UN, echoed Mr Trump's comments, saying the US will not "chase after a Palestinian leadership that lacks what is needed to achieve peace". Haley accused the veteran president of lacking the courage needed for a peace deal. "To get historic results, we need courageous leaders," she said. The UN ambassador went on to unfavourably compare Mr Abbas to Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and King Hussein of Jordan, who negotiated treaties with Israel. But her comments were mocked by spectators, who highlighted that Mr Sadat had been assassinated by Islamic militants, in large part due to his agreement with Israel. NEW: Nikki Haley presses Arab leaders to step up in peace process, asking: "Where is the Palestinian Anwar Sadat?" Note: Sadat was assassinated two years after he signed a peace deal with Israel.— Peter Alexander (@PeterAlexander) January 25, 2018 The Palestinians have claimed the US can no longer be considered a neutral broker of peace talks in the region. President Mahmoud Abbas has said the Palestinian Authority would not meet with the US administration until it withdrew its recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Hanan Ashrawi, another senior Palestinian official, said: "not meeting your oppressor is not a sign of disrespect; it is a sign of self-respect." Palestinians see at least the east of the city as the capital of their future state, and the announcement set off street protests and diplomatic fury. Diplomatic positions on Jerusalem However, sitting alongside Mr Netanyahu in Davos, Mr Trump said: "Israel has always supported the United States so what I did with Jerusalem was my honour." Last week the Trump administration announced it is withholding more than half the funding that the US provides to a United Nations agency that aids Palestinian refugees. Heather Nauert, the State Department spokeswoman, said the US would withhold $65 million from the UN Relief and Works Agency “for future consideration”. Meanwhile a new poll has found Mr Trump's recognition of Jerusalem led to a spike in Palestinian support for "armed struggle". Jerusalem - Israel Nearly twice as many Palestinians said they supported "armed struggle" against Israel compared with an identical survey six months previously, while there was also a fall in support for the two-state solution, the joint Israeli and Palestinian poll found. The poll of 1,270 Palestinians across east Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza was conducted in the days after Mr Trump's December 6 declaration that he would move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and recognise the city as Israel's capital. The same poll in June found 21 percent support for armed struggle, while 45 percent backed a peace agreement.
from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines http://ift.tt/2GmKXuO
No comments:
Post a Comment