‘God puts people in places, including Trump,’ says US Ambassador to Israel

The Trump administration peace plan preserves Israel sovereignty and offers Palestinians an opportunity to leave in peace and prosperity, David Friedman said.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
David Friedman (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
David Friedman
(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
The Trump administration's peace plan preserves Israel's sovereignty and offers Palestinians an opportunity to leave in peace and prosperity, US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman told American Evangelical outlet Christian Broadcasting Network on Thursday. Friedman also said that the presidency of Donald Trump was an act of God.
"When it comes to events that transpire, whether it's in regard to Israel or anything else, I'm a believer. I believe that God runs the world, so that would apply to the president, you, me, and the cameraman so that's not news to me," he said, adding that "I think God puts people in places for certain times at all times."
Friedman further stated that Trump has been Israel’s best friend.
Asked about the peace plan, known as the “Deal of the Century,” Friedman emphasized that it’s “acceptable in principle to Israel and that has not been rejected, in fact it has been encouraged to proceed by some of the major Arab nations."
Trump revealed the details of the plan on Tuesday in a press conference alongside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The ambassador said that the administration was not surprised by the cold reaction from Palestinian leaders.
"The people within the territories they are suffering," he told CBN News. "This was designed to, if not regain or obtain the trust of the leadership, at least to obtain the interest of the Palestinian people. The leadership has failed the Palestinian people for generations. They've become pawns in larger conflicts and the leadership has shown itself to be very adept at misdirecting the resources of the territory to their own pockets." 
In the proposal, Friedman added, “there's a pathway to Palestinian statehood but it holds the Palestinians accountable."
The report stated that “prominent Evangelical leaders have given their input and guidance to this Middle East peace plan,” and that “overall, they're pleased with the final result.”
"I find an enormous amount I have in common with evangelical leaders and evangelical parishioners," the official, who is Jewish, said.
"They're believers. They believe in something greater than themselves. They believe in the divinity of the land of Israel and I share that view wholeheartedly. They're good people. They're moral people. They run their lives based upon right and wrong, based upon faith, based upon conscience. It resonates with me and I enjoy it," he further told CBN.
Asked about why the plan included Israel extending its sovereignty on the settlements in the West Bank, also known as Judea and Samaria, Friedman explained that this provision met Israel’s security needs.
"This area is in a very volatile part of the world and the last thing the world needs, the last thing the region needs is a failed Palestinian state overcome by ISIS, al-Qaeda or Hezbollah or somebody else," Friedman told CBN News.
"The fact that Israel retains its military overriding responsibility from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean gives me some comfort both from a political and security perspective but also from a religious perspective, that there is no retreat by the Jewish state from biblical territory," he explained.


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