Donald Trump
Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg
US secretary of state: Trump pressured Israel, Palestinians to renew peace talks
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson tells reporters that during his visit to Israel, President Trump 'put a lot of pressure' on Israeli and Palestinian leaders to return to the negotiating table; Tillerson: 'Everyone has to compromise.'
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Wednesday that US President Donald Trump has "pressured" Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to renew the peace negotiations during his visit to Israel and the West Bank this week.
"The president was very forceful in his encouragement to both of them to be serious about approaching these discussions in the future and recognize they have to compromise," Tillerson said in Rome, where he was accompanying Trump on his first overseas trip as president.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (Photo: AFP)
"Everyone has to compromise," said Tillerson, stressing the negotiations' importance by suggesting that Israeli-Palestinian peace could be a catalyst to greater regional peace.
"He put a lot of pressure on them that it’s time to get to the table," added Tillerson, going on to say that "the president emphasized the subject a number of times to both sides and left optimistic and with the feeling that his message had gotten across."
Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu (Photo: Alex Kolomoisky)
When asked whether the renewal of the peace talks is a prerequisite for establishing political relations between Israel and other countries in the Middle East or whether the two goals could be aimed for simultaneously, Tillerson responded the matter is separately dependant on each and every country, and that he prefers not to speak on their behalf.
Trump and Mahmoud Abbas (Photo: AFP)
Meanwhile, Jason Greenblatt, Trump’s lead Middle East negotiator, who accompanied him to Israel and the Palestinian Authority, was due to return to the region on Thursday.
(Translated & edited by Lior Mor)
