Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is convinced that President Trump is still very much invested in pushing a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinian Authority – despite the PM’s repeated attempts to inform the US President about the futility of expecting the Arabs to turn their backs on generations of incitement and hatred.
Recordings from Monday’s Likud Knesset faction reported by Ha’aretz reveal Netanyahu’s repeated attempts to curb the enthusiasm of his members over speculations that President Trump has already given up on his peace dream.
In the recordings, according to Ha’aretz, Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely attacks Netanyahu, saying, “There was a news report about cutting certain neighborhoods out of Jerusalem. We are all in favor of the unity of Jerusalem, what is the meaning of this?”
MK Yehuda Glick added, “Last week when the plan to give away Kfar Aqeb and Shuafat was publicized, I was flooded with phone calls from the people of Kafr Aqab and Shu’fat, who are begging to be allowed to stay.”
Glick also attacked the PM over his own pet peeve, the government’s policy regarding the Temple Mount. “You said during Trump’s visit that there was freedom of worship for everyone, and I hope we will advance towards freedom of worship for Jews,” he said.
MK Miki Zohar told the meeting, “These days an opportunity has been opened to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state. The great majority [of Israelis], despite what the polls are showing, do not want a Palestinian state. Maybe they agrees to an autonomy, maybe cantons, but they do not want a Palestinian state.”
Turned to Netanyahu, the MK added, “With the opportunity that exists today with the American administration, which greatly appreciates you, for whom you are the greatest partner in the world, I do not want to be in a situation where with such an Administration we’d miss the opportunity [to quash the idea of a Palestinian State]. It could be a ‘cry for the generations’ (meaning a catastrophe whose consequences would last for generations),”
Netanyahu finally offered his answer, saying, “You’ve all heard Trump. He said, ‘I believe that Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas) wants peace.’ He said it! And he said that we should try to reach an agreement. We are in this situation. THIS situation.”
Netanyahu said that he had emphasized to Trump that “the reason there is no agreement is that they are educating the children for generations upon generations that there will not be a State of Israel, and there is no way to overcome this problem. This message was transmitted in the clearest way both behind closed doors and in the open.”
Netanyahu added, “[Trump] is still unequivocally willing, even eager to reach an agreement out of a belief that the Palestinians are willing to give up their desire to destroy the State of Israel.”
“We have to deal with this,” the PM told his Knesset faction. “The way to deal with this is not obvious. I’ve been hearing many statements, but you should leave this confrontation to me. I have proven over the years that I take care of our interests in an informed and responsible manner.”
However, Netanyahu concluded, “Anyone who thinks we have a blank check [from the Trump Administration] is sadly mistaken.”