Trump resets US relations with Israel, seeking broader alliance against Islamist Iran, terror

Sarah Netanyahu, Melania Trump, Pres. Trump, Israeli Premier Netanyahu

Pres. Donald Trump demonstrates Israel's first family the respect which Democrat White House denied them.

Transcript And Analysis: Trump And Netanyahu Hold Joint Press Conference

President Trump is hosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Wednesday. The two held a joint press conference amid differing messages emanating from the Trump administration about its stance on the two-state solution in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. NPR journalists with expertise in politics, national security and the Middle East have annotated a transcript of their remarks.

Premier Netanayhu in joint press conference with Pres. Trump

President DONALD TRUMP: Thank you! Today, I have the honor of welcoming my friend, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to the White House. With his visit, the United States again reaffirms our unbreakable bond with our cherished ally, Israel.

The partnership between our two countries, built on our shared values, has advanced the cause of human freedom, dignity and peace. These are the building blocks of democracy. The state of Israel is a symbol to the world of resilience in the face of oppression. I can think of no other state that's gone through what they've gone, and of survival in the face of genocide. We will never forget what the Jewish people have endured.



Your perseverance in the face of hostility, your open democracy in the face of violence, and your success in the face of tall odds is truly inspirational. The security challenges faced by Israel are enormous, including the threat of Iran's nuclear ambitions, which I've talked a lot about. One of the worst deals I've ever seen is the Iran deal.

My administration has already imposed new sanctions on Iran, and I will do more to prevent Iran from ever developing — I mean ever — a nuclear weapon. Our security assistance to Israel is currently at an all-time high, ensuring that Israel has the ability to defend itself from threats, of which there are unfortunately many.



Both of our countries will continue and grow. We have a long history of cooperation in the fight against terrorism and the fight against those who do not value human life. America and Israel are two nations that cherish the value of all human life.

This is one more reason why we reject unfair and one-sided actions against Israel at the United Nations, which has treated Israel in my opinion very, very unfairly, or other international forums, as well as boycotts that target Israel.

Bibi addresses press conf. with Pres. Trump (Photo: Matzav.com)

Israeli Premier BENJAMIN NETANYAHU:   

President Trump, thank you for the truly warm hospitality. You and Melania have shown me, my wife Sara, our entire delegation. I deeply value your friendship. To me, to the state Israel, it was so clearly evident in the words you just spoke, Israel has no better ally than the United States. And I want to assure you, the United States has no better ally than Israel.

Our alliance has been remarkably strong, but under your leadership, I'm confident it will get even stronger. I look forward to working with you to dramatically upgrade our alliance in every field, in security and technology and cyber and trade and so many others, and I certainly welcome your forthright call to ensure that Israel is treated fairly in international forums and that the slander and boycotts of Israel are resisted mightily by the power and moral position of the United States of America.

As you have said, our lives are based on a deep bond of common values and common interest. And increasingly, those values and interests are under attack by one malevolent force, radical Islamic terror. Mr. President, you've shown great clarity and courage in confronting this challenge head on. You call for confronting Iran's terrorist regime, preventing Iran from realizing this terrible deal into a nuclear arsenal, and you have said that the United States is committed to preventing Iran from getting nuclear weapons. You call for the defeat of ISIS.

Under your leadership, I believe we can reverse the rising tide of radical Islam, and in this great task, as in so many others, Israel stands with you and I stand with you. Mr. President, in rolling back militant Islam, we can seize an historic opportunity because for the first time in my lifetime and for the first time in the life of my country, Arab countries in the region do not see Israel as an enemy, but increasingly as an ally.

Read more (along with NPR's leftist analysis). 

DEBKAfile reports: Trump reacted positively to Netanyahu’s proposal to broaden the Israeli-Palestinian peace process to a regional effort as a “very important” new idea “on a broader canvas” which he believed could succeed. Netanyahu said that the regional fears of Iran also presented an opportunity for cooperation against the Islamic State and radical Islamic terror. 

Trump and Netanyahu putting Palestine in context of
broader Middle East peace arrangement
(Courtesy: La Historia con Mapas)

These sentiments reflected agreement in principle between Trump and Netanyahu to seek an Israeli peace accord with Saudi Arabia and the Gulf emirates as the lead-in to negotiations for an accord with the Palestinians. Egypt, Jordan and Turkey with whom Israel already has normal relations would jump in later. This deal fits in with the US plan reported more than once on these pages for a regional peace between the Sunni Arab nations and the Jewish State.

Some of the spadework may have been performed by CIA Director Mike Pompeo who paid a secret visit to Ramallah Wednesday morning for talks with Mahmoud Abbas, after trips to Ankara and Riyadh, following which Turkey upgraded its diplomatic mission in Israel


This plan was the fulcrum for the president to push back against the two-state solution advocated by the Obama administration as the cure for the conflict. It remains to be seen if this plan takes on life outside the White House and in the region’s capitals.


Trump realistically called on Israel to “hold back settlements,” show flexibility and make compromises for a peace deal. He urged the Palestinians to “get rid of hate starting in the schoolroom.” Whatever the Israelis and Palestinians agree to in direct talks - one state or two – “I will accept,” he said, adding, “I believe we will have a deal that is better than many Israelis think.”

Obama exacts endorsement from Netanyahu for military package (that phases out Israeli industry)

Netanyahu knows Obama will soon be unrestrained against Israel (Getty Images)

After acquiescing to Obama's golden (military) handcuffs terms, at press-conference with Obama, Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu indicates Obama's pro-Islamist obsession will continue outside of office, with less encumbrance.


Transcript (courtesy The Times of Israel) 

PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU: Mr. President, it’s very good to see you again. First, I want to thank you for the Memorandum of Understanding that we signed last week. It greatly enhances Israel’s security. It fortifies the principle that you’ve enunciated many times that Israel should be able to defend itself, by itself, against any threat.

Secondly, I want to thank you for the extensive security and intelligence cooperation between our two countries. I don’t think people at large understand the breadth and depth of this cooperation, but I know it. And I want to thank you on behalf of all the people of Israel. 

Third, I want to thank you for the many meetings we’ve had in which we discussed how to confront common challenges and how to seize common opportunities. The greatest challenge is, of course, the unremitting fanaticism. The greatest opportunity is to advance a durable peace. That’s a goal that I and the people of Israel will never give up on.

We’ve been fortunate that, in pursuing these two tasks, Israel has no greater friend than the United States of America, and America has no greater friend than Israel. Our alliance has grown decade after decade, through successive presidents, a bipartisan Congress, and the overwhelming support of the American people. It’s an unbreakable bond based on common values, buttressed by common interest, and bound by a shared destiny.

And I want to thank you, Mr. President, for the opportunity to once again discuss how we can shape that destiny together.

And I’d like to add, if I may, one final point. As you conclude your presidency, I know you’re going to be busy with many, many things, much more than improving what I hear is a terrific golf game. (Laughter.) Your voice, your influential voice will be heard for many decades. And I know you’ll continue to support Israel’s right to defend itself and its right to thrive as a Jewish state. So I want you to know, Barack, that you’ll always be a welcome guest in Israel.

And, by the way, I don’t play golf, but right next to my home in Caesarea, in Israel, is a terrific golf course.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: We’ll set up a tee time. (Laughter.)

Thank you. Thank you so much.

Well, it’s good to once again welcome Prime Minister Netanyahu and his delegation here. I want to start by just sending a message that all of the American people, my entire administration, and me, personally, are thinking about Shimon Peres — a great friend, a hero, and giant in the history of Israel. And we are hopeful that he will have a speedy recovery.

I’ve always joked whenever I’ve seen Shimon that I wanted to see what he ate and what he did, because he’s always looked so good. I know this has been a challenging time for him and his family, but I wanted to make sure that I relay my gratitude to him for his friendship and his leadership, and helping to forge a strong U.S.-Israeli bond.

As Prime Minister Netanyahu mentioned, the bond between the United States and Israel is unbreakable. It is based on common values, family ties, a recognition that a Jewish state of Israel is one of our most important allies, and a guiding principle throughout my presidency — one that I’ve expressed often to the Prime Minister — is, is that it is important for America’s national security to ensure that we have a safe and secure Israel, one that can defend itself.

And so the Memorandum of Understanding that we recently signed I think is indicative of that. What it does is provide an assurance and a foundation for the kinds of ongoing military and intelligence cooperation that has been the hallmark of our relationship. It allows I think Israeli planners the kind of certainty in a moment where there’s enormous uncertainty in the region. It is a very difficult and dangerous time in the Middle East, and we want to make sure that Israel has the full capabilities it needs in order to keep the Israeli people safe and secure.

This will give us an opportunity to talk about the challenges that arise out of situations like Syria. I’ll also be interested in hearing from the Prime Minister his assessment of conditions within Israel and in the West Bank. Obviously, our hearts go out to those who have been injured, both Israeli and Palestinian. Clearly, there is great danger of not just terrorism, but also flare-ups of violence. We do have concerns around settlement activity, as well. And our hope is that we can continue to be an effective partner with Israel in finding a path to peace.

Obviously, I’m only going to be President for another few months. The Prime Minister will be there quite a bit longer. And our hope will be that in these conversations we get a sense of how Israel sees the next few years, what the opportunities are and what the challenges are in order to assure that we keep alive the possibility of a stable, secure Israel at peace with its neighbors, and a Palestinian homeland that meets the aspirations of their people.

But obviously, these are challenging times. One thing I can say about Prime Minister Netanyahu is he has always been candid with us, and his team has cooperated very effectively with ours. We very much appreciate it. And I guarantee you that I will visit Israel often, because it is a beautiful country with beautiful people. And Michelle and the girls I think resent the fact that I’ve not taken them on most of these trips, so they’re insistent that I do take them. Of course, they will appreciate the fact that the next time I visit Israel I won’t have to sit in bi-lats — (laughter) — but instead can enjoy the sights and sounds of a remarkable country.

So thank you very much.

PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU: Thank you.

Global affairs analyst, Caroline Glick, debunks the fallacy of the "Two-State Solution" to the Arab-Israeli conflict

Caroline Glick, global affairs analyst at the Jerusalem Post and the Center for Security Policy, discusses myths of the 'two-state solution' in the Middle East and lays out her blueprint for "Ending The Stalemate."

Israel gets new administration, new initiative towards correcting distorted portrayals of the Arab-Israeli conflict

The inauguration of Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud-led coalition government brings a long-needed corrective lens onto the jaundiced mainstream-media view of the global Jihad.  Israel's new Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, has announced the new government's strategy of putting the onus of progress on the Arabs' fulfilling their long-unfulfilled obligations toward peace - before Israel makes any further concessions.

Robert Spencer at Jihad Watch features Melanie Phillips' The Spectator article,"The Essential History" - which references Victor Sharpe's American Thinker article delineating how there already is a 'two-state solution.'

Melanie Phillips quotes extensively from "The Two - State Solution is 87 Years Old," an article by Victor Sharpe in the American Thinker, March 29. It is a superb and important piece, as she says, detailing Britain's long record of betrayals of the Jewish people and appeasement of Arab demands -- and even now, jihadist demands grow ever more shrill, and Western politicians prepare to betray Israel yet again in another round of appeasement, with Obama and company acting as if the "two-state solution" has never yet been tried, when it is the only thing that has ever been tried.

Phillips concludes:

It is only if the true history of the Middle East is understood that certain things become inescapably clear: the scale of the monumental lie that has been so assiduously promulgated about the nature of this dispute, a lie which is now generally assumed in the west to be true and which is driving the genocidal hysteria against Israel; the fact that the fundamental cause of this tragic impasse was the repeated British appeasement of Arab terror, illegality and injustice, a policy which continues to this very day; and the immorality and absurdity therefore of believing that today's ‘two-state solution’ – which among other things means that the ‘progressives’ who support it thus support the ethnic cleansing of all Jews from the putative state of Palestine – would be anything other than a Final Solution for the Jews of Israel, not to mention an incalculable victory for the forces waging war against the free world.

In a rare moment on Al Jazeera Arabic TV, Algerian author Anwar Malek exposed those forces:

The reality of the Arabs is one of defeat, hitting rock bottom... We are defeated, politically and militarily... and economically, socially, and even psychologically. We have a discourse of conspiracy, and we blame everything on others. (Watch on MemriTV via courtesy of Israel Matsav).

Israel Agrees to Destroy Jewish Towns, Starting in November

(Peace in our time? It looks to become a complicated New Year with the need for our voice. Please support Democracy Broadcasting's ability to continue generating enlightenment to the media and to viewers all over the world. May you be blessed for your generous donation through DemoCast.Org).

Israel National News' Hillel Fendel reports:

"The Palestinian Authority's Maan news agency has published a copy, in Hebrew, of PM Olmert's agreement to expel tens of thousands of Jews and replace them with a Palestinian state.

The report states that Israel has agreed to begin destroying Jewish towns in Judea and Samaria immediately following the US-sponsored international summit this coming November.

The PA claims that the document's eight points represent the principles of agreement between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas, in anticipation of the upcoming Middle East summit.

The document begins by stating that Israel and the PA are to immediately enter a process "that will lead to the formation of two states, Israel and Palestine, side by side," and are "to reach understandings of the type detailed below." The eight points upon which Olmert and Abbas undertake to agree are the following:

1. Israel will end the occupation of the West Bank within an agreed-upon time period. The retreat and the evacuation of the settlements will occur gradually and in several stages. Each area that is evacuated will be transferred to the Palestinian Authority, which will instill law and order there. The existence of a regime in Gaza that is willing to be part of the peace process will enable Israel to view Gaza and the West Bank as one political entity.

2. An unarmed Palestinian state will be established, whose permanent borders will be based on the pre-1967 borders. The precise border will reflect security, demographic and humanitarian needs. An exchange of territory will be enabled on a 1:1 basis, to preserve settlement blocs in Israeli hands and to guarantee Palestinian contiguity and economic development.

3. There will be two capitals in Jerusalem, that of Israel and that of Palestine, and they will be sovereign over the Jewish and Arab neighborhoods, respectively. The two municipalities will cooperate for the enhancement of the quality of life of all the residents.

4. Special arrangements will be emplaced to preserve free access to all the holy sites of the various religions. A special administration will be established to maintain the two nations' bonds with the holy sites in the Old City of Jerusalem.

5. Palestine will be recognized as the national home of the Palestinian nation, and Israel will be recognized as the national home of the Jewish nation.

6. A fair and agreed solution will be found for the problem of the Palestinian refugees, with consideration and recognition of the suffering that was caused to them, and with the understanding that the implementation of national self-definition will be the main aspect of the solution.

7. The two sides will declare their willingness to end the conflict and to act to increase public support for the agreement as much as possible. The two sides will act with all their force, together and separately, against any manifestation of violence and terrorism that is directed from the area of either state to the other.

8. The two sides see this agreement as a significant manifestation of the principles of the Arab League's peace initiative, and call upon the members of the League to take operative steps to bring about its full implementation. Similarly, the sides call upon the entities represented in the Quartet and international community to guarantee and help, in various ways, to promote and actualize this agreement.

The agreement ends with this paragraph:

A document based on principles of the above type must be reached before the international summit in November, must be presented during the summit, and must be anchored in international decisions after it. Immediately following the summit, parallel with the negotiations for a detailed agreement, Israel will begin withdrawing its forces and evacuating settlements from areas in the West Bank. Completion of the various stages of evacuation will be done parallel to the completion of the negotiations.

Clauses 3 and 4 indicate that Israel has agreed to give up the Temple Mount, Judaism's most sacred spot in the world, and allow an "administration" to determine when Jews would be allowed to visit or pray there.

Clauses 1 and 2 do not take into account the tremendous amount of Arab-held weaponry already present in Judea and Samaria, nor the anti-Israel violence emanating from Gaza that increased dramatically upon Israel's withdrawal in 2005.

Clause 6 leaves open the possibility that "Right of Return" refugees would be allowed to live in Israel.
The immediate response of the Yesha Council (the body representing the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria) was this: "Only a government that acts so totally wantonly would be able to suggest such an agreement, precisely on the day that dozens of its soldiers are wounded from a rocket fired from area we gave over to the Palestinians. The Yesha Council calls upon all those to whom Israel's security and welfare are of top priority to object to this calamitous process of Olmert. The Knesset Members must thwart this program, which means the division of Jerusalem, as well as Kassam rocket launchers to the outskirts of Kfar Saba and Ben Gurion International Airport."