US-Palestinian relations have crashed to a new low after Donald Trump threatened to block US aid and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas was accused of insulting the president.
In a dramatic first day at the Davos summit, Mr Trump met with Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu and questioned why the US should continue giving aid to the Palestinians if they were not willing to participate in peace talks.
His comments came after the Palestinians refused to meet with Vice President Mike Pence when he visited Israel last week in protest at the US decision to recognise the disputed city of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
“When they disrespected us a week ago by not allowing our great Vice President to see them and we give them hundreds of millions of dollars in aid and support, tremendous numbers, numbers that nobody understands,” Mr Trump said.
“That money is on the table. That money is not going to them unless they sit down and negotiate peace”
Mr Trump further angered Mr Abbas by claiming to Mr Netanyahu that the issue of Jerusalem was “off the table” in negotiations with the Palestinians.
“You could never get past Jerusalem, we got it off the table,” Mr Trump said.
Read the article by Cameron Stewart (Washington correspondent) in The Australian (subscription required).