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Trump meets Abbas in Bethlehem

[ssba]

The US President met the President of the Palestinian Authority (PA) in Bethlehem yesterday as part of his Middle East visit.

According to the White House, PA President Mahmoud Abbas told President Trump during the meeting that he is “ready to begin negotiating immediately” with Israel. Trump in return stressed his belief that lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians is possible. The two leaders discussed initiatives to boost the Palestinian economy and improve counterterrorism capability in the West Bank.

In a joint press conference after the meeting Trump stressed the need to condemn violence as a perquisite for any peace deal, saying: “Peace can never take root in an environment where violence is tolerated, funded and even rewarded.  We must be resolute in condemning such acts in a single, unified voice.”

Abbas said that the “Palestinian people’s attainment of their freedom and independence is the key to peace and stability in the world” and that the only way to achieve this is the “two-state solution along the borders of 1967, the state of Palestine with its capital as East Jerusalem”.

Abbas took the opportunity to highlight the treatment of Palestinian prisoners in Israel and Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank.

The meeting took place in the Bethlehem, where Trump was greeted with a guard of honour by Palestinian security forces as an acknowledgement of the important role of the US military in their training and development.