Donald Trump is visiting Jerusalem in an outreach effort to establish Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, in the second leg on his first foreign tour as President.
Trump said he has the “rare opportunity to bring security and stability and peace” to the Middle East. That peace effort means standing up for Israel and against terrorism, a marked turn from Obama administration policies.
Peace through strength seemed to be the theme, as Trump explained during his speech on the first leg of his tour, that achieving it “means honestly confronting the crisis of Islamist extremism and the Islamist terror groups it inspires.”
He added, “It means standing together against the murder of innocent Muslims, the oppression of women, the persecution of Jews, and the slaughter of Christians.”
Now, he is declaring the desire not only to combat Islamist extremism, but to actively pursue peace.
Via Al Jazeera:
Trump is scheduled to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on Tuesday, and will also visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in West Jerusalem and give a speech at the Israel Museum.
Negotiations toward the establishment of two separate states – one for the Israelis and one for Palestinians – have in the past proven fruitless. The repeated failure of negotiations has led to increased Israeli settlement activity and even less territory on which a Palestinian state could potentially be established.
Trump has spoken of his self-described deal-making prowess in declaring that the “ultimate deal” is possible, vowing “we will get it done”.
President Trump’s flight path is actually considered a symbolic and historic effort in and of itself.
A spokesperson for the Civil Aviation Authority of Israel told AFP he was not aware of any flight having previously taken the same path before.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu certainly took notice of Trump’s actions.
Never before has the first foreign trip of a president of the United States included a visit to Israel. Thank you, @POTUS. pic.twitter.com/UzvaXoXSAW
— Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) May 22, 2017
Netanyahu also expressed hope for change with the new President in charge …
Mr. President, you just flew from Riyadh to Tel Aviv. I hope one day an Israeli prime minister will be able to fly from Tel Aviv to Riyadh. pic.twitter.com/y5hMI8FbAu
— Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) May 22, 2017
Mr. President, may your first trip to our region prove to be a historic milestone on the path towards reconciliation and peace. pic.twitter.com/kLp6Xud0s7
— Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) May 22, 2017
Trump is also set to visit the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, becoming the first sitting president to do so.
Check out the moment when Prime Minister Netanyahu welcomed President Trump to Israel:
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Do you think President Trump can achieve peace in the Middle East? Share your thoughts below.
