Trump and Abbas in Bethlehem
Photo: AFP
Report: Trump to present peace initiative within a month
Al Hayat reports the US president told Palestinian President Abbas that he and his team are still studying the administration's new peace initiative, and that it will be announced in a few weeks; plan reportedly to include discussions on each core issue separately.
US President Donald Trump reportedly told Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during their meeting Tuesday
that he plans to announce a new peace initiative in the coming weeks, according to the pan-Arabic newspaper Al Hayat.
The newspaper quotes a senior source as saying that Trump and his team are still studying the new initiative, and he is expected to announce it within a month.
Trump speaking in Bethlehem after meeting with Abbas
According to the source, the peace initiative will set a time limit for talks, during which the sides will negotiate each of the core issue separately.
"Trump wants a separate agreement on each issue and, in that way, they'll eventually reach the big deal, which is a final-status peace agreement between the sides," the source told Al Hayat.
Trump meets with Abbas in Bethlehem (Photo: AFP)
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Meanwhile, Abbas's senior economic advisor Mohammad Mustafa said the Palestinian asked Trump for significant economic changes beyond the economic relief measures Israel has proposed. Among other things, the Palestinians have asked for economic freedom in the Israeli-controlled Area C of the West Bank and changes to the 1994 Paris Protocol, which is an agreement on economic relations between Israel and the PLO.
