Trump's Ongoing Efforts to Advance the Israel-Palestine Peace Process

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on Wednesday, September 6, that the President of the United States is set to meet with the Prime Minister of Israel and the President of the Palestinian Authority in the near future to advance the peace process. Haaretz, citing 'Israeli and Palestinian officials' as well as 'a White House official', confirmed the scheduling of Donald Trump's meetings with Benjamin Netanyahu and Mahmoud Abbas, both of whom are traveling to New York for speeches at the United Nations General Assembly. According to the report, Trump will meet separately with Netanyahu and Abbas approximately two weeks from now, between September 18 and September 20, although the exact timing depends on Trump's schedule with global leaders at the UN General Assembly. The 'White House official' added that Trump's efforts to advance his peace initiative will continue before and after the General Assembly. This will be Trump's first meeting with Israeli and Palestinian leaders since his spring visit to the region. In May, during his first official visit to Israel and the West Bank, Trump expressed readiness to mediate in the peace process without mentioning Palestinian statehood. In recent months, Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and senior advisor, along with Jason Greenblatt, the U.S. special representative for international negotiations and Middle East affairs, visited Israel and the West Bank several times to explore the possibility of resuming peace talks between the two sides. The Los Angeles Times reported that Kushner and Greenblatt's trip last month to Jerusalem and Ramallah was merely to 'gauge the pulse' of both sides' views. The White House stated that the calm established in relations between Israel and the Palestinians after weeks of tensions over security measures at the Al-Aqsa Mosque provided an opportunity for the American delegation's renewed mission. Haaretz, on September 6, quoted Palestinian officials as saying that Kushner raised the possibility during his meeting with Mahmoud Abbas last month that Trump could present his peace initiative before the end of 2017. The 'White House official' also told the newspaper that the chances of success for Trump's peace plan are high because 'all the leaders of the regional countries' that Kushner has met with in recent months have expressed 'optimism' about advancing Israeli-Palestinian peace. During his latest trip to the region to assess the positions of regional leaders regarding the U.S. peace initiative, Kushner met with the Emir of Qatar, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, the King of Jordan, and senior officials from the UAE. According to the 'White House official' in an interview with Haaretz, Arab leaders have stated they are 'willing to roll up their sleeves and help the U.S. achieve a historic peace agreement.' Reports indicate that Mahmoud Abbas, during his May meeting with Trump in the West Bank and subsequent meetings with Kushner, stated that cooperation with the U.S. could lead to a 'historic peace agreement.' On the other hand, Abbas expressed doubts about the Trump administration's ability to advance the peace process 'given the internal problems of the U.S. President' during a meeting last month with Israeli leftist party Meretz politicians. According to Haaretz, Abbas will call for global support to realize the two-state solution and Palestinian independence alongside Israel in his speech at the UN General Assembly in two weeks. Meanwhile, Israeli media reported that Benjamin Netanyahu, in his upcoming speech at the UN General Assembly and his meetings with Trump and other global leaders on the sidelines of the assembly, as well as his upcoming trip to three Latin American countries, will emphasize his government's positions against the Iran nuclear deal and the 'growing military presence of Iran in Syria.'