JERUSALEM/WASHINGTON (EJP)—‘’I love the people of Israel, I am working very hard to finally have peace for the people of Israel and the Palestinians and hopefully that can come about much sooner than anybody has ever projected,’’ said US President Donald Trump ahead of his ‘’historic’’ visit to Israel on Monday.
‘’It is a tremendous possibility. It is good for all. This is a deal that is good for all. And I would consider it one of my crowning achievements if I can do it,’’ he added in an interview with daily Israel Hayom.
Trump is to arrive Monday in Israel after a visit to Saudi Arabia. He will be officially welcomed at Tel Aviv Ben Gurion Airport by Israeli President Reuven Rivlin.
He will meet Israel’s Prime Minister Benjain Netanyahu later on the same day at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem.
At the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday, Netanyahu stressed that this is Ptresident Trump’s first visit outside the US since his inauguration in January. ‘’The honor is ours that he has chosen to come to Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, and – of course – to the State of Israel,’’ Netanyahu said.
‘’I will discuss with President Trump ways to strengthen even further the first and strongest alliance with the US. We will strengthen security ties, which are strengthening daily, and we will also discuss ways to advance peace,’’ he added.
He said ‘’the citizens of Israel will receive you with open arms.’’
In the interview with Israel Hayom, Trump said tht ‘’we have not yet made a final decision about my visit to the Western Wall.’’
“We have great respect for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and the decision to have the rabbi [of the Western Wall]accompany us was primarily because that is the custom at the site. It could still change.”
In the interview, Trump evaded the question of whether the U.S. Embassy would move to Jerusalem.
According to The Washington Post, the Trump administration is poised to disappoint some in Israel and among his own supporters in the United States by reneging on a campaign pledge to quickly move the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to the Israeli capital, Jerusalem. Facing a June 1 deadline for a decision, Trump is now expected to defer a congressional mandate to move the embassy on grounds that doing so could ignite Arab violence and spoil chances for peace, the paper writes.
Trump skipped a visit to the fortress city of Masada, where Netanyahu had invited Trump to speak. The U.S. explanation is that the President canceled the visit after being told that he could not land his helicopter atop the UNESCO heritage site.
Isreli opposition leader Isaac Herzog said disappointment with Trump is largely limited to members of Israel’s “deep-right wing that were sure that President Trump would be working for them.”
Trump’s fierce pro-Israel stance has limits, and just like past U.S. presidents, Trump has his own agenda, Herzog suggested.
“The truth of the matter is — and I always knew and understood this — that whoever sits in the Oval Office and at helm of the United States understands the complexities and sensitivities of situation here,” he said.
“The visit is very important because it highlights the strength of the relationship between Israel and America,” said Israel’s minister for regional cooperation, Tzachi Hanegbi, a close associate of Netanyahu. “There was never a president who came to Israel during the first few months of his term, and there was never a visit by an Israeli Prime Minister so early on his term.”
According to Brigadier General (Res.) Michael Herzog, a Senior Visiting Fellow at pro-Israel British advocacy BICOM, and an international fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, launching a Mideas peace process is a high priority for the Trump administration notwithstanding other pressing issues in the region and globally.
‘’The Trump administration right now is in the phase of listening and learning and I think it has a lot to learn from past experiences and conclusions. I don’t believe Trump’s team have made up their mind on the exact designs of the process and how to launch it, and I don’t expect that these issues will be settled during the visit,’’ he sdaid.
He added: ‘’I think the visit is more of a symbolic nature, to create a positive atmosphere and to set the stage for a possible process. But at this stage I doubt the President and his team will go into the specific details of a process itself, certainly not in public. We should however, expect some statements of significance, one of which was revealed by the National Security Advisor who said that the President will announce his support for Palestinian self-determination – the first for this administration – and there may also be a statement on Jerusalem for Israel. I do not expect the administration to announce the moving of the US embassy to Jerusalem during this visit, but perhaps a more general statement that recognises Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.’’
During his visit to Saudi Arabia, where he received a royal welcome, President Donald Trump sealed a $110 billion arms deal with the Gulf country
The arms deal, plus other investments that U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said could total up to $350 billion, was the central achievement of Trump's first day in Riyadh.
In an address during the Arabic Islamic American Summit at the King Abdulaziz Conference Center in Riyadh, Trump called on Middle Eastern leaders to combat a “crisis of Islamic extremism” emanating from the region, casting the fight against terrorism as a “battle between good and evil,” not a clash between the West and Islam.
During a meeting of more than 50 Arab and Muslim leaders, he declared: “We are not here to lecture — we are not here to tell other people how to live, what to do, who to be, or how to worship. Instead, we are here to offer partnership — based on shared interests and values — to pursue a better future for us all.”
He urged Muslim countries to ensure that “terrorists find no sanctuary on their soil” and announced an agreement with Gulf countries to fight financing for extremists.
Saudi Arabia was the first stop on a nine-day journey through the Middle East and Europe.