Davos, Switzerland: US President Donald Trump has threatened to withhold aid to the Palestinians if they do not pursue peace with Israel, saying they had snubbed the US by not meeting Vice President Mike Pence during a recent visit.
Trump, speaking after a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, said he aimed for peace in the Middle East.
Palestinians shunned Pence’s visit to the region this month after Trump recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and vowed to begin moving the US embassy to the city, whose status is at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Trump’s endorsement in December of Israel’s claim to Jerusalem as its capital drew universal condemnation from Arab leaders and criticism around the world. It also broke with decades of US policy that the city’s status must be decided in negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
Read the full article by Reuters at the Sydney Morning Herald.