Trump to Abbas: No rewarding violence

Trump told the Palestinian Authority leader that visions of peace could not coexist with paying salaries to convicted terrorists.

United States President Donald Trump told Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas during a visit to Bethlehem that aspirations for peace could not coexist together with rewarding violence. Trump had previously raised such concerns with Abbas during their May 4 summit at the White House.

“Peace can never take root in a place where violence is tolerated, funded and even rewarded,” Trump said, in apparent reference to the salaries paid by the PA to families of imprisoned terrorists.

Trump added that “We must be resolute in condemning such acts in a single, unified voice. Peace is a choice we must make each day, and the United States is here to help make that dream possible for young Jewish, Christian, and Muslim children all across the region.”

While Trump notably did not endorse a Palestinian state, he did call for the resumption of peace talks, and expressed his hope for a lasting agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. “I am committed to trying to achieve a peace agreement between the Israelis and the Palestinians, and I intend to do everything I can to help them achieve that goal,” he said.

Trump’s visit to Bethlehem was on the final day of his two-day trip to Israel, in which he became the first sitting United States President to visit the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest site. Trump also visited Yad Vashem, in addition to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and will wrap up his trip today with a major address to the Jewish State from the Israel Museum.

By: Tzvi Lev, World Israel News