Trump Comes to Israel Citing a Palestinian Deal as Crucial -<br />By PETER BAKER and IAN FISHERMAY 22, 2017<br />JERUSALEM — President Trump began a two-day visit to Israel on Monday with a blunt assessment for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:<br />If Israel really wants peace with its Arab neighbors, the cost will be resolving the generations-old standoff with the Palestinians.<br />We were very pleased that the president showed he is trying to break the impasse.”<br />Mr. Trump arrived on what was believed to be the first open, direct flight to Israel from Saudi Arabia, which do<br />not have diplomatic relations, a sign of the possibility he sees for what he has called “the ultimate deal.”<br />After meeting with Reuven Rivlin, who holds the largely ceremonial position of president of Israel, the president<br />toured the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, home of what is believed to be the tomb of Jesus Christ.<br />Among other things, Mr. Trump last week disclosed to Russia’s foreign minister and ambassador some classified information<br />that came from Israel about an Islamic State plot, potentially jeopardizing the Israeli intelligence source and deeply angering some Israeli security officials.<br />King Salman feels very strongly and, I can tell you, would love to see peace with Israel and the Palestinians.”<br />Mr. Trump added that line to the remarks prepared for him, in effect tying the future of the anti-Iran<br />coalition to the Palestinian issue despite Mr. Netanyahu’s longtime efforts to unlink the two.
