President Donald Trump will press Abbas to end payments to families of Palestinians imprisoned in Israeli jails, according to US officials, one of several actions Washington believes could lead to resumed peace talks with Israel.
"We will get it done", Trump said during a series of meetings with Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority.
Abbas said that Palestinians wish to see a two-state solution based on 1967 borders with a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem.
President Donald Trump says he'll "do whatever is necessary" to reach a Mideast peace agreement and he believes "there's a very, very good chance" of bringing Israel and the Palestinians together.
Abbas From Lalit K Jha Washington, May 3 (PTI) Visiting Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas said today that US President Donald Trump brings in "hope" towards finding a solution to the decades old Israeli-Palestine conflict. "I believe we can be partners - true partners to you - to bring about a historic peace treaty", Abbas said through an interpreter. The Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics said the number of Jewish settlers in disputed territory grew from 198,300 in 2000 to 385,900 in 2015.
Trump noted that over the course of his life he'd heard "that perhaps the toughest deal to make" is the one between Israel and Palestine.
Questions have been raised about Trump's choice of his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who entered the White House with no government experience, to oversee Middle East peace efforts, along with Trump's longtime business lawyer, Jason Greenblatt, as on-the-ground envoy.
Vice President Mike Pence on Tuesaday said Trump is giving "serious consideration" to moving the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which he pledged to do during the presidential campaign, but did not offer a timeline for that move. Abbas had earlier reiterated a longstanding demand for East Jerusalem to be the capital of a Palestinian state.
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Pence said that Trump would never undermine Israel's national security while pursuing a final peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.
Abbas, who governs in the West Bank while Hamas militants rule Gaza, was under pressure at home to avoid making major concessions to Trump.
Asked what distinguishes Trump's plans from previous attempts, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said merely: "The man is different".
The visit from Abbas follows Trump's talks more than two months ago with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The US president admired the "continued security coordination" between the PA and Israel, saying he was "actually very impressed and somewhat surprised" that "they get along unbelievably well".
"I look forward to welcoming him back as a great mark of progress and ultimately toward the signing of a document with the Israelis and with Israel toward peace", he added.
In February, Trump had told Netanyahu that the road to peace included Israelis' willingness to "show some flexibility" and the Palestinians would have to acknowledge and reduce some of the "hate" for Israel.
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