Trump: West Bank annexation 'off the table', Christianity part of UAE deal

“Christians have been persecuted by some countries in particular in the Middle East. This [the UAE deal] is a big start, It is going to be a strong start, a very powerful start,” the president said.

AUGUST 15, 2020 21:24

US President Donald Trump speaks about a peace deal reached between Israel and the United Arab Emirates from the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, US, August 13, 2020 (photo credit: REUTERS/KEVIN LAMARQUE) — US President Donald Trump speaks about a peace deal reached between Israel and the United Arab Emirates from the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, US, August 13, 2020

(photo credit: REUTERS/KEVIN LAMARQUE)

Annexation of the West Bank is "off the table" and Israel has agreed not to do it, President Donald Trump said late Thursday night, breaking with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who had earlier said that the peace deal with the UAE only temporarily delayed application of Israeli sovereignty.

“Israel has agreed not to do it. More than off the table, they have agreed not to do it," Trump said. "I think that very important. I think it was a great concession by Israel, I think it was a smart concession.”

He added, however, that he could not clarify what would happen in the future, “right now it is off the table.”

Trump said that he hopes to host Netanyahu and the UAE's leader Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in he next three weeks at the White House for a ceremony to mark the peace deal.

US Ambassador to the US David Friedman clarified that the word which had been chosen to describe the situation was “suspended” and that word had been chosen “very carefully” because it means a temporary halt. Sovereignty, Friedman said was “off the table” not but not “off the table permanently.”

But at an earlier stage in the conference Friedman noted that the application of sovereignty to West Bank settlements was incompatible with the overall goal of normalized ties between Israel and the Arab world.

Friedman has been one of the strongest supporters of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria. On Thursday night, as he spoke with Trump in Washington, he said, however, “we are putting our eggs into the basket of peace.”

The US Ambassador explained that, “we have an agreement with the Emirates. We are going to nail all the details, embassies, overflights, commercial. Then we are going to extrapolate that to the rest of the region.

“How long that takes, I cannot tell you. But we have prioritized peace over the sovereignty movement. It’s not off the table, it’s just something that has been deferred until we have given peace every single chance.”

When asked if a deal with the UAE could have been reached without Netanyahu’s decision to suspend annexation.

“I think you can't do both at the same time,” Friedman said. “Prioritize peace. Sovereignty after peace is given every opportunity.”

But, he said, Israel has not been asked to permanently abandon the idea of annexation.

In January the US had unveiled a peace plan that would have allowed Israel to annex up to 30% of the West Bank, but then the Trump administration asked Israel to wait before executing that plan.

In Jerusalem on Thursday Netanyahu said, “There is no change in my plan to apply sovereignty to Judea and Samaria, in full coordination with the United States. I am committed to that. This has not changed.” He added, “Just as I brought on peace with an Arab state - I will bring on sovereignty.”

With respect to the Palestinians, Trump told reporters in Washington he believed they would negotiate with Israel, because they rely heavily on financial support of countries that are making deals with Israel.

The Palestinians are “supported by countries we are already talking to. Palestinians will, without saying it necessarily yet, they want to be part of what we are doing. I see peace between Israel and the Palestinians happening, as these big powerful wealthy countries come in, I think the Palestinians will follow quite naturally,” Trump said.

The Israel-UAE deal was of importance to Muslims of the region, because it would make the al-Aksa Mosque in Jerusalem - the third most holy site in Islam — accessible to citizens of those Arab countries who reach peace deals with Israel, Trump said.

“The deal which was reached today will enable Muslims to have a far greater ability to visit many historic sites in Israel and to peacefully pray at the Al-Aksa Mosque, which is very important to for them [and] which they have wanted to have access to for many decades,” Trump said.

“This a monumental step toward forging ties of cooperation in the Middle East,” he said.

Protecting Christians in the Middle East is also an important part of the nascent peace deal, Trump said.

“Christians have been persecuted by some countries in particular in the Middle East. This [the UAE deal] is a big start, It is going to be a strong start, a very powerful start” toward protecting Christians in the Middle East, Trump explained.

“If you look at the way Christians have been treated in some countries, it is beyond disgraceful. If I had information and if I had absolute proof of some of the stories we have heard, which is not easy to get, I would go in and do a number to those countries, like you would not believe,” Trump said.

As a result protecting Christians in the Middle East would also be a component of future deals that would be signed between Israel and other countries in the region, he clarified.

Christianity “is a very big part of the overall negotiation. As countries come in, the UAE has agreed very strongly to represent us, I think will, very well, with respect to Christianity, because in the Middle East it is not treated well. It is treated horribly and very unfairly,” Trump said.

Once signed the Israel-UAE deal would be only the third peace deal Israel has reached with one of its Arab neighbors during its 72-year history. Israel signed a peace deal with Egypt in in 1979 and with Jordan in 1994.

Trump said that the “historic agreement” marked a “big day for Israel and a big day for the world” that would allow for “peace in the Middle East.”

“We will not rest as we continue to work toward a world of greater harmony and prosperity for all."