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Birth place: Tel Aviv, Israel

Birth name: Binyamin Netanyahu

Father: Benzion Netanyahu, a historian

Mother: Cela (Segal) Netanyahu

Marriages: Sara Ben-Artzi (1991-present); Fleur Cates (1981-1988, divorced); Miriam Haran (divorced)

Children: with Sara Ben-Artzi: Avner and Yair; with Miriam Haran: Noa

Education: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, B.S., 1974 and M.S., 1976

Military service: Israeli Defense Forces, 1967-1972, Captain

Other Facts:
Leader of the right-wing Likud Party.

Is known throughout Israel by the nickname "Bibi."

Spent his teenage years in the United States; went to high school in Philadelphia.

First Israeli prime minister to be born after the state was founded in 1948.

Netanyahu's brother, Yonatan, was killed in action in 1976 while leading a mission to rescue Israeli passengers on a hijacked Air France plane.

Netanyahu organized two international conferences on ways to combat terrorism, one in 1979 and another in 1984.

Serves in the Israeli Defense Forces in an elite commando unit, Sayeret Matkal.

1976-1978 - Works in the United States for Boston Consulting Group.

1982-1984 - Deputy Chief of Mission at the Israeli Embassy in Washington.

1984- 1988 - Israel's ambassador to the United Nations.

1988 - Returns to Israel and wins a seat in the Knesset, Israel's parliament.

1988-1991 - Deputy foreign minister under Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir.

1991-1992 - Deputy Minister in the prime minister's office.

1993 - Is elected the Likud party chairman.

June 1996-July 1999 - Prime Minister of Israel.

September 1996 - Has first meeting with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

October 23, 1998 - Yasser Arafat and Netanyahu sign the Wye Memorandum, an interim accord, exchanging land and power to secure Israel from political violence.

1999 - Following his defeat in the elections, Netanyahu resigns from the Knesset.

1999-2002 - Works in the private sector.

2002-2003 - Minister of Foreign Affairs.

2003-2005 - Minister of Finance.

August 2005 - Resigns in protest over the plan to withdraw Jewish settlers from Gaza and return their land to Palestinian control.

December 2005 - Is elected leader of the Likud party.

August 2007 - Is re-elected.

February 10, 2009 - After an election, the results remain unclear as to who will become prime minister, Netanyahu or chief rival Tzipi Livni. Both make claims to the position.

February 19, 2009 - Wins backing from Israeli parliament.

February 20, 2009 - Becomes the prime minister-designate and begins working on the formation of the new government.

March 31, 2009 - Is sworn in as prime minister.

September 1-2, 2010 - Attends a meeting in Washington hosted by President Barack Obama to possibly restart peace talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders. Other leaders in attendance are Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, King Abdullah II of Jordan and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

September 14, 2010 - Meets with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Egypt for second round of peace talks in two weeks. Also in attendance are US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and US Special Envoy to Middle East George Mitchell.

May 4, 2011 - Denounces the reconciliation agreement signed by Fatah and Hamas in Egypt and calls on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to "immediately cancel the reconciliation deal with Hamas and choose the path of peace with Israel."

May 24, 2011 - Addresses a joint meeting of Congress. He says that he is prepared to make "painful compromises" for a peace settlement with the Palestinians. However, he repeats that Israel will not accept a return to its pre-1967 boundaries.

June 13, 2012 - Israel releases a 153-page report criticizing Netanyahu's handling of a raid against a Turkish aid flotilla to Gaza in 2010, where nine Turkish activists were killed.

September 27, 2012 - In an address to the United Nations, Netanyahu exhorts the General Assembly to draw "a clear red line" to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

October 9, 2012 - Calls for an early election after failing to agree on a budget with his coalition partners.

October 9, 2012 - Israel's parliament votes to dissolve itself and schedules an election for January 22, 2013.

January 22, 2013 - According to media exit polling, Netanyahu's Likud Beitenu party wins 31 Knesset seats in the election. The Yesh Atid party, a new centrist movement, comes in a surprising second place with at least 19 seats.

March 24, 2013 - Apologizes to Turkey for the 2010 raid on the Gaza-bound flotilla Mavi Marmara.

November 24, 2013 - Tells reporters that the Iran nuclear deal that world leaders reached with Tehran is a "historic mistake."

April 27, 2014 - Tells CNN that Israel cannot negotiate with the government of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas while it is backed by Hamas. "I call on President Abbas: Tear up your pact with Hamas."

September 29, 2014 - Warns delegates at the UN General Assembly not to overlook threats posed by Iran and Hamas in their zeal to defeat ISIS.

December 2, 2014 - Calls for the dismissal of two members of his coalition cabinet and announces he will call for the dissolution of the nation's legislature.

October 1, 2015 - Netanyahu says he is "prepared to immediately resume" direct peace talks with the Palestinian Authority "without any preconditions whatsoever." His remarks come a day after the leader of the Palestinian Authority said Palestinians are stepping away from the Oslo Accords.

January 27, 2017 - Is questioned a third time in an ongoing graft probe. Netanyahu continues to deny the accusations.

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Birth place: Tel Aviv, Israel Birth name: Binyamin Netanyahu Father: Benzion Netanyahu, a historian Mother: Cela (Segal) Netanyahu Marriages: Sara Ben-Artzi (1991-present); Fleur Cates (1981-1988, divorced); Miriam Haran (divorced) Children: with Sara Ben-Artzi: Avner and Yair; with Miriam Haran: Noa Education: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, B.S., 1974 and M.S., 1976 Military service: Israeli Defense Forces, 1967-1972, Captain Other Facts: Leader of the right-wing Likud Party.

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Palestinian leaders are "poisoning the future" and are to blame for the continued Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Addressing the UN General Assembly, Mr Netanyahu said Israel is prepared to revive peace talks, but rejected a freeze on Israeli settlement building, saying the issue has "always been about the existence of a Jewish state".

"I am ready to negotiate all final status issues, but one thing I will never negotiate is our right to the one and only Jewish state", the prime minister said.

Mr Netanyahu has previously rejected the 1967 borders as the basis for talks and denounced what he called Palestinian incitement.

Speaking to the UN General Assembly before Mr Netanyahu, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas criticised Israel's "abhorrent" settlement policy and demanded the UN take a bigger role in the effort to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Mr Abbas urged the 193-member General Assembly to declare 2017 "the international year to end the Israeli occupation of our land and our people".

He insisted "our hand remains outstretched for making peace," but said Israel refuses to "abandon the mentality of hegemony, expansionism and colonisation."

In his speech against Palestinian incitement, Mr Netanyahu said: "Now here's the tragedy, because, see, the Palestinians are not only trapped in the past, their leaders are poisoning the future."

He asked the audience to imagine a day in the life of a 13-year-old Palestinian boy named Ali.
"Ali wakes up before school, he goes to practice with a soccer team named after Dalal Mughrabi, a Palestinian terrorist responsible for the murder of a busload of 37 Israelis. At school, Ali attends an event sponsored by the Palestinian Ministry of Education honouring Baha Alyan, who last year murdered three Israeli civilians. On his walk home, Ali looks up at a towering statue erected just a few weeks ago by the Palestinian Authority to honor Abu Sukar, who detonated a bomb in the center of Jerusalem, killing 15 Israelis. "When Ali gets home, he turns on the TV and sees an interview with a senior Palestinian official, Jibril Rajoub, who says that if he had a nuclear bomb, he'd detonate it over Israel that very day. Ali then turns on the radio and he hears President Abbas's adviser, Sultan Abu al-Einein, urging Palestinians, here's a quote, "to slit the throats of Israelis wherever you find them." Ali checks his Facebook and he sees a recent post by President Abbas's Fatah Party calling the massacre of 11 Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics a "heroic act". On YouTube, Ali watches a clip of President Abbas himself saying, "We welcome every drop of blood spilled in Jerusalem." Direct quote. "Over dinner, Ali asks his mother what would happen if he killed a Jew and went to an Israeli prison? Here's what she tells him. She tells him he'd be paid thousands of dollars each month by the Palestinian Authority. In fact, she tells him, the more Jews he would kill, the more money he'd get. Oh, and when he gets out of prison, Ali would be guaranteed a job with the Palestinian Authority. "Ladies and Gentlemen, "All this is real. It happens every day, all the time. Sadly, Ali represents hundreds of thousands of Palestinian children who are indoctrinated with hate every moment, every hour."
Mr Netanyahu also extended an invitation to Mr Abbas urging him to address Israel's parliament, which the Palestinian Ambassador to the UN rejected as a "new gimmick".

"Will he attend the International Conference proposed by France and supported by many to be held by the end of the year?" Riyad Mansour said in a statement to The Associated Press.

"You can measure Netanyahu's interest in achieving peace through the number of illegal settlements he builds and Palestinian homes he destroys. He has chosen occupation over peace."

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Benjamin Netanyahu blames Palestinians for lack of peace in Israel

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Palestinian leaders are "poisoning the future" and are to blame for the continued Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Addressing the UN General Assembly, Mr Netanyahu said Israel is prepared to revive peace talks, but rejected a freeze on Israeli settlement building, saying the issue has "always been about the existence of a Jewish state".

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Birth place: Safed, Palestine

Children: Three sons Mazen (died in 2002), Yasser and Tareq

Education: Damascus University, B.A.; Oriental College (in Moscow), Ph.D.

Other Facts:
His family left the British Mandate area Safed, Palestine, to live in Syria as refugees in 1948.

Abbas laid floor tiles and taught elementary school before earning a law degree.

Played an integral role in the forging of the Declaration of Principles, the historic peace accord signed in 1993 by PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat and Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin of Israel.

Was the primary force behind the Palestine National Council's decision to work with Israeli peace groups.

He is also known as Abu Mazen. (Abu is a slang term to describe the head of a family or father of children.)

- Founding member of the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (Fatah), which became the largest political group of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO).

1964 - Fatah joins the PLO.

1967 - Is appointed to Fatah's Central Committee.

1968 - Joins the Palestinian National Council (PNC).

1980 - Is elected to the PLO's Executive Committee.

September 1993 - Accompanies Arafat to the White House to sign the Oslo Accords, or the Declaration of Principles.

1995 - Signs the Interim Peace Agreement with Israel.

March 19, 2003 - Accepts the position of prime minister of the Palestinian Authority.

June 3, 2003 - Meets with President George W. Bush and the leaders of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Bahrain, in Egypt, regarding peace efforts.

September 6, 2003 - Resigns as prime minister of the Palestinian Authority.

November 11, 2004 - Becomes the chairman of the PLO after Yasser Arafat's death.

January 9, 2005 - Declares victory in Palestinian presidential elections.

May 26, 2005 - Meets with US President Bush; the first meeting with the Palestinian Authority in the White House since peace talks broke down in 2000. President Bush pledges to give the Palestinian Authority $50 million in aid.

May 31, 2005 - Undergoes a successful, minor heart procedure in a hospital in Amman, Jordan.

February 21, 2006 - Asks Hamas leader Ismail Haniya to assemble a government. Haniya is sworn in in March.

June 14, 2007 - Dissolves the government and dismisses Haniya as prime minister. Haniya rejects this and remains the de facto leader in the Gaza Strip.

June 15, 2007 - Appoints economist Salam Fayyad as the new prime minister of an emergency Palestinian Cabinet.

November 27, 2007 - Attends the Annapolis Middle East Peace Conference, the first formal peace conference sponsored by the US since 2000. Top diplomats and representatives from dozens of countries and organizations also attend, hoping to restart stalled Middle East peace negotiations.

April 24, 2008 - Meets with President Bush at the White House.

January 2009 - Extends his term in office until 2010, citing a clause in the constitution.

December 16, 2009 - The PLO's Central Council votes to extend Abbas's term as president indefinitely.

May 4, 2011 - Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal formally adopt a reconciliation agreement during a ceremony in Egypt.

September 16, 2011 - Abbas announces during a speech in Ramallah that he will pursue a full United Nations membership bid for Palestine.

September 23, 2011 - Abbas submits a statehood application letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

January 3, 2013 - Abbas issues a decree renaming the organization the "State of Palestine."

December 31, 2014 - One day after the UN Security Council rejects a resolution calling for Palestinian statehood by 2017, and for Israel to withdraw from the West Bank and East Jerusalem, Abbas applies to join the International Criminal Court. This sets the stage for the Palestinian Authority to possibly pursue war crime complaints against Israel.

September 30, 2015 - Addresses the UN General Assembly before the historic raising of the Palestinian flag at the United Nations, saying the Palestinian Authority is no longer bound by the Oslo Accords.

September 8, 2016 - CNN reports that once-secret Soviet documents, obtained by CNN from the Mitrokhin Archive at Churchill College at the University of Cambridge, say that Abbas, who completed graduate work in Moscow in 1982, was a KGB agent while he was a member of the PLO in Damascus. Palestinian leaders decry the report as a "smear campaign" targeted at Abbas.

September 30, 2016 - Attends the funeral of Israeli statesman Shimon Peres and shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

October 6, 2016 - Is hospitalized to have his heart tested.

May 3, 2017 - Meets with US President Donald Trump at the White House.

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Birth place: Safed, Palestine Children: Three sons Mazen (died in 2002), Yasser and Tareq Education: Damascus University, B.A.; Oriental College (in Moscow), Ph.D. Other Facts: His family left the British Mandate area Safed, Palestine, to live in Syria as refugees in 1948. Abbas laid floor tiles and taught elementary school before earning a law degree.

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Palestinian Refusal of Balfour Declaration is at heart of conflict

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Palestinian Refusal of Balfour Declaration is at heart of conflict

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What will Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump do to promote peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians? He joins Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough at the Morning Joe town hall to discuss potential peace-making efforts in Middle East if elected president.

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Trump's views on Israeli-Palestinian conflict

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What will Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump do to promote peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians? He joins Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough at the Morning Joe town hall to discuss potential peace-making efforts in Middle East if elected president.

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President Trump with Jared Kushner, his son-in-law and a senior adviser, at the White House in July. Mr. Kushner is leading efforts to broker a Middle East peace deal. Credit Credit Tom Brenner/The New York Times

WASHINGTON - President Trump and his advisers have begun developing their own concrete blueprint to end the decades-old conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, a plan intended to go beyond previous frameworks offered by the American government in pursuit of what the president calls "the ultimate deal."

After 10 months of educating themselves on the complexities of the world's most intractable dispute, White House officials said, Mr. Trump's team of relative newcomers to Middle East peacemaking has moved into a new phase of its venture in hopes of transforming what it has learned into tangible steps to end a stalemate that has frustrated even presidents with more experience in the region.

The prospects for peace are caught up in a web of other issues consuming the region, as demonstrated in recent days by Saudi Arabia's growing confrontation with Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israel is likewise worried about Hezbollah as well as efforts by Iran to establish a land corridor across southern Syria. If a war with Hezbollah broke out, it could scuttle any initiative with the Palestinians.

Nonetheless, Mr. Trump's team has collected "non-papers" exploring various issues related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and officials said they expected to address such perennial dividing points as the status of Jerusalem and settlements in the occupied West Bank. Although Mr. Trump has not committed to a Palestinian state, analysts said they anticipated that the plan will have to be built around the so-called two-state solution that has been the core of peacemaking efforts for years.

"We have spent a lot of time listening to and engaging with the Israelis, Palestinians and key regional leaders over the past few months to help reach an enduring peace deal," said Jason D. Greenblatt, the president's chief negotiator. "We are not going to put an artificial timeline on the development or presentation of any specific ideas and will also never impose a deal. Our goal is to facilitate, not dictate, a lasting peace agreement to improve the lives of Israelis and Palestinians and security across the region."

Mr. Trump, who considers himself a dealmaker, decided to adopt the challenge when he took office in January, intrigued at the idea of succeeding where other presidents failed, and he assigned the effort to Jared Kushner, his son-in-law and senior adviser. Neither had any background with the issue and the effort was greeted with scorn, but the fact that the president entrusted it to a close relative was taken as a sign of seriousness in the region.

Mr. Trump's team sees the convergence of factors that make the moment ripe, including an increased willingness by Arab states to finally solve the issue to refocus attention on Iran, which they consider the bigger threat. With that in mind, Egypt is brokering a reconciliation between Mahmoud Abbas, who presides in the West Bank, and Hamas, which controls Gaza, a deal that would cement the Palestinian Authority as the representative of the Palestinian people. Saudi Arabia has summoned Mr. Abbas to Riyadh to reinforce the importance of a deal.

"The stars begin to align in a way that creates a moment," said Nimrod Novik, a fellow at the Israel Policy Forum who served as foreign policy adviser to former Prime Minister Shimon Peres, who negotiated the Oslo Accords in the 1990s. "But obviously the two key questions are will Prime Minister Netanyahu decide to go for it" and "will President Trump, once he's presented a plan by his team, decide it's worth the political capital required."

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel in London this month. He faces pressure from the right not to make concessions. Credit Toby Melville/Reuters

Still, neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel nor President Abbas of the Palestinian Authority is in a strong position to negotiate. Mr. Netanyahu faces corruption investigations and pressure from the right in his narrow coalition not to make concessions, while Mr. Abbas is aging and endures strong opposition among his own constituents.

Skepticism abounds, especially among those who spent years struggling to overcome the same challenges with the same set of tools. President Barack Obama and his advisers debated for months putting forth their own parameters for a deal, ultimately outlining a general set of principles at the end of last year in a speech by Secretary of State John Kerry as time ran out on the administration.

"There's nothing new under the sun when it comes to Middle East peace," said Philip Gordon, a White House Middle East coordinator under Mr. Obama. "When you get into these details, that's when you come up against the strong objections of the two sides. If they don't want it to be dead on arrival, they may wind up with vague principles, but as we've seen, even vague principles are beyond what the parties are willing to embrace."

Tamara Cofman Wittes, a State Department official under Mr. Obama, said both Israeli and Palestinian leaders "are heavily constrained" not only by their own governing coalitions but by suspicious and risk-averse publics. "It's hard even for willing political leaders to make major concessions under those circumstances," she said.

The core four-member team drafting the plan includes Mr. Kushner, Mr. Greenblatt, Dina H. Powell, a deputy national security adviser, and David M. Friedman, the ambassador to Israel. They are consulting with Donald Blome, the consul general in Jerusalem, and others from the State Department and National Security Council. Officials said the effort may take until early next year.

Mr. Trump and his team make no bones about being pro-Israel. The president has boasted of being Israel's "biggest friend" and Mr. Kushner, Mr. Greenblatt and Mr. Friedman are all Orthodox Jews with ties to Israel. But Ms. Powell is an Egyptian-born Coptic Christian and Mr. Kushner has developed strong ties with the Saudis and other Arabs and recently returned from a visit to Riyadh. Mr. Trump has met with Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Abbas three times each.

The team has drawn praise from across the spectrum. "We do believe this is a historic opportunity, and we will spare no effort to support President Trump's investment in a better future," Husam Zomlot, the Palestinian Authority's envoy to Washington, said in an interview. During a trip to London this month, Mr. Netanyahu said, "They are trying to think out of the box."

Barak Ravid, an Israeli journalist who has broken stories on the American effort, wrote in the left-leaning Haaretz newspaper last spring that Mr. Trump had " succeeded in bringing peace, which in recent years had become a dirty word, back to the center of Israeli public and political discourse."

But privately, officials from both sides express concern that Mr. Trump and his team are still naïve about the Middle East and ineffective in accomplishing their objectives.

Dennis Ross, the veteran Middle East peace negotiator, said Mr. Trump's team has "done a very good job of presenting themselves as having listened" and is now "taken seriously" in the region.

King Abdullah II of Jordan, left, with President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority at the royal palace in Amman, Jordan, last month. Mr. Abbas faces opposition from his own constituents and is not considered to be in a strong position to negotiate a peace deal. Credit Muhammad Hamed/Reuters

The decision to present a concrete plan makes sense if ground is prepared in advance. "If you simply resume negotiations and nothing accompanies it, nobody will take it seriously," Mr. Ross said. "People will say we've seen this movie before. You have to show people - no, something is different this time."

Some analysts said they believed Mr. Trump's plan may come with confidence-building provisions that each side will already have agreed to. For Israel, it could include limiting settlement construction to current blocs without taking new land, recommitting to a two-state solution and redesignating a small part of the West Bank to give Palestinians more control.

For the Palestinians, it could include resuming full security cooperation with Israel, holding off seeking further international recognition and ending payments to families of Palestinians imprisoned for terrorist attacks. Arab states, particularly Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan, could add their own commitments, like overflights by Israeli passenger planes, visas for business people and telecommunications links.

A White House official dismissed that as mere speculation. But the challenges of getting even to that stage are formidable, much less tackling harder questions.

Mr. Zomlot, the Palestinian envoy, said any plan must establish a sovereign Palestinian state along the borders from before the 1967 Arab-Israeli war with East Jerusalem as its capital. "This is not our maximum. This is our minimum," he said. "What everybody needs to understand is the historic compromise has already been made."

Israel's allies in Washington are pressing from the other side. The House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday will consider a bill to cut aid to the Palestinian Authority unless it ends payments to families of Palestinian attackers.

"If the Palestinians are going to be trustworthy partners in any kind of peace discussion, they have to show that they're not inciting terrorism," said Representative Doug Lamborn, a Republican from Colorado sponsoring the legislation. "And when you pay people - and, in fact, if you pay them more, the more Jews they kill - that's pure incitement to terrorism."

Palestinian leaders say the payments are meant to help destitute families, not promote terrorism, and they accuse Israel of subsidizing violence by encouraging settlers in the West Bank. One compromise floated recently would have the Palestinian Authority help those families through a general welfare program that does not prioritize relatives of prisoners.

Still, some analysts think Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Abbas are simply playing along with the goal of ensuring the other is blamed when the process collapses.

"The biggest impediment to the peace process is the two leaders," said Grant Rumley, a scholar at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. "Ultimately, both Netanyahu and Abbas just have this long, long history and they've played this game really well. And they don't trust each other and I don't think they will ever get to the point where they will trust each other."

Correction:

An earlier version of this story incorrectly said former President Barack Obama opted against releasing his own parameters for a Middle East peace deal. Secretary of State John Kerry outlined a general set of principles in a speech at the end of last year.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A1 of the New York edition with the headline: Kushner-Led Team Is Forming An 'Ultimate Deal' for Mideast. Order Reprints | Today's Paper | Subscribe

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Trump Team Begins Drafting Middle East Peace Plan

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WASHINGTON - President Trump and his advisers have begun developing their own concrete blueprint to end the decades-old conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, a plan intended to go beyond previous frameworks offered by the American government in pursuit of what the president calls "the ultimate deal."

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Readout of President Donald J. Trump's Meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel

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President Donald J. Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel met today in New York to reaffirm the unbreakable bond between the United States

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Trump's Thoughts w/ President Abbas from Palestinian Authority

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Trump's Thoughts w/ President Abbas from Palestinian Authority

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Donald Trump has committed the United States to helping Israel and the Palestinians reach peace, telling visiting Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas: "We will get it done."

Trump spoke after welcoming Abbas to the White House for a meeting aimed at relaunching talks that have failed repeatedly to resolve the decades-old conflict. "I've always heard that perhaps the toughest deal to make is the deal between the Israelis and the Palestinians," Trump said. "Let's see if we can prove them wrong."

He insisted: "We will get it done."

Speaking through a translator, Abbas echoed Trump's upbeat tone: "We believe that we can be true partners to you to bring about a historic peace under your stewardship."

Barely two and a half months after he received Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the US president greeted Abbas on the White House lawn, before ushering him into the Oval Office for their talks.

The longshot effort to bring peace - which has eluded US presidents since the 1970s - got off to a rocky start early in Trump's administration.

Trump renounced support for a Palestinian state and vowed to move the US embassy to Jerusalem, breaking two tenets of American policy held for decades.

Mike Pence, the vice-president, said on Tuesday said Trump is still "giving serious consideration into moving the American embassy in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem". That move would likely spark Palestinian fury and is privately seen by many in the Israel and US security establishments as needlessly inflammatory.

At the same time, Trump has urged Israel to hold back on settlement building in the West Bank, a longstanding concern of Palestinians and much of the world.

Pence said Trump is "personally committed to resolving the Israeli and Palestinian conflict" and "valuable progress" is being made.

The 82-year-old Abbas made the trip to Washington while he is politically unpopular back home, with polls suggesting most Palestinians want him to resign. Abbas's term was meant to expire in 2009, but he has remained in office with no elections held. He will be hoping Trump can pressure Israel into concessions he believes are necessary to salvage a two-state solution to one of the world's longest-running conflicts.

Palestinians are watching closely, including the leader of the radical Hamas movement Khaled Meshaal, who called on Trump to break with past approaches to Middle East peace. "This is a historic opportunity to pressure Israel to find an equitable solution for the Palestinian people," he told CNN.

Hamas on Tuesday released a policy document that for the first time indicates a willingness to accept the idea of a Palestinian state within the borders that emerged after the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, although it stops short of recognizing Israel.

Palestinian officials have seen their cause overshadowed by worry over global concerns such as the war in Syria and Islamic State group jihadists, and want Trump's White House to bring it back to the forefront.

One of Trump's top advisers, Jason Greenblatt, held wide-ranging talks with Israelis and Palestinians during a visit in March.

Abbas and Trump spoke by phone on 11 March, and there are suggestions the US president could visit the Middle East this month.

A group of three influential Republican senators have called on Trump to ask Abbas to stop funding Palestinian prisoners and their families. That could prose major domestic political headaches for Abbas, as he battles unpopularity and challenges from rival factions.

According to former White House official Dennis Ross, Trump was helping Abbas by extending the White House invite. But mutual distrust between Palestinians and Israelis will be a formidable, if not impossible, barrier for Trump to overcome.

"The gap between the parties has probably never been greater," said Ross.

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Donald Trump tells Abbas 'we will get it done' on Israel-Palestinian peace deal

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Donald Trump has committed the United States to helping Israel and the Palestinians reach peace, telling visiting Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas: "We will get it done." Trump spoke after welcoming Abbas to the White House for a meeting aimed at relaunching talks that have failed repeatedly to resolve the decades-old conflict.

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JERUSALEM ( JTA) - U.S. President Donald Trump and his advisors have started drafting an Israeli-Palestinian peace plan, officials told The New York Times.

In the article published Saturday, officials said they expect to address issues that have long frustrated negotiators, such as the status of Jerusalem and West Bank settlements. The framework could "take until early next year to finalize" and will not impose a timeline for negotiations, officials said.

"We have spent a lot of time listening to and engaging with the Israelis, Palestinians and key regional leaders over the past few months to help reach an enduring peace deal," Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt told The Times. "We are not going to put an artificial timeline on the development or presentation of any specific ideas and will also never impose a deal. Our goal is to facilitate, not dictate, a lasting peace agreement to improve the lives of Israelis and Palestinians and security across the region."

Greenblatt, Trump's son-in-law and chief Middle East adviser Jared Kushner, Deputy National Security Adviser for Strategy Dina Powell, and U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman are the "core" team drafting the plan, according to the Times. They are reportedly consulting with State Department officials and U.S. Consul General in Jerusalem Donald Blome.

Analysts told the Times they expect the plan would have to be based on the two-state solution, which envisions a Palestinian state alongside Israel and has been central to peacemaking efforts for years. Some said they believe Trump's plan may include confidence-building measures to get the processing moving.

For Israel, those could include limiting settlement construction to current blocs without taking new land, recommitting to a two-state solution and redesignating a small part of the West Bank to give Palestinians more control. The Palestinians could be asked to resume full security cooperation with Israel, hold off seeking further international recognition and end payments to families of Palestinians imprisoned for terrorist attacks.

Arab states, particularly Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan, could try to sweeten the deal by making commitments like overflights by Israeli passenger planes, visas for business people and telecommunications links, The Times report suggested.

But a White House official quoted in the report dismissed such specifics as "mere speculation."

Trump has publicly committed to trying to forge the "ultimate deal" between Israel and the Palestinians, and Greenblatt and Kushner have made numerous trips to Israel and the Middle East. The president has stepped back from previous administrations' support for a two-state solution, saying the parties would have to decided the outcome of a negotiated settlement. But senior officials have said the White House remains committed to the goal of a Palestinian state.

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Donald Trump is drafting an Israeli-Palestinian peace plan

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JERUSALEM (JTA) - U.S. President Donald Trump and his advisors have started drafting an Israeli-Palestinian peace plan, officials told The New York Times. In the article published Saturday, officials said they expect to address issues that have long frustrated negotiators, such as the status of Jerusalem and West Bank settlements.

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Trump's Thoughts w/ Prime Minister Netanyahu

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Trump's Thoughts w/ Prime Minister Netanyahu

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President Trump Meets Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, Sep 18 2017 | C-SPAN.org

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President Trump meets with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in New York.

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RAMALLAH - Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman invited Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to Riyadh this week as part of plans to form a grand regional alliance including both Israel and Palestine to confront Iran, Palestinian officials and western diplomats told Middle East Eye on Wednesday.

Abbas arrived in Riyadh on Monday following a weekend of drama and intrigue in which dozens of princes, former ministers and influential business tycoons were arrested and Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri also announced his surprise resignation from the Saudi capital.

Officials and diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity, told MEE that Abbas had been summoned to discuss renewed American efforts to secure a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinian Authority which the crown prince sees as a crucial step towards his goal of enabling Saudi Arabia and Israel to work together openly against Iran.

"The Arabs and the Israelis are facing two enemies, Iran and terrorism, and they must form an alliance to confront them," a western diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"But this alliance cannot be established without resolving the Palestinian issue; Saudi Arabia cannot work openly with Israel in the face of Iran, before solving the Palestinian issue, and having the Palestinians themselves involved directly in such an axis."

READ MORE ►
The Israeli-Saudi alliance beating the drums of war

Abbas is expected to return to Ramallah, the Palestinian Authority's political capital, later on Wednesday.

Palestinian officials, also speaking anonymously, told MEE that Abbas had met both King Salman and the crown prince and had been assured by them that Arab states would not establish formal diplomatic relations with Israel until Palestinian statehood was recognised and a regional peace deal had been agreed.

"President Abbas raised his concerns of the Israeli intention to implement the Arab Peace Initiative from Z to A, not from A to Z, meaning that Israel is interested in having a relationship with the Arab countries before having a Palestinian statehood," one official said.

The Arab Peace Initiative refers to an Arab League-endorsed proposal dating from 2002 which offers recognition of Israel by Arab states in return for Israel's complete withdrawal from the West Bank and a "just solution" addressing the issue of Palestinian refugees displaced prior to the creation of Israel in 1948.

"The king and the crown prince assured President Abbas that will not happen. The Saudis are keen to keen to see a regional peace deal that solves the Palestinian cause first," the official said.

Majdi Khaldi, Abbas's diplomatic advisor who accompanied him on the visit to Riyadh, told Voice of Palestine radio on Tuesday, that the crown prince and Abbas had been in "constant contact" recently.

"Saudi Arabia has always stood with us, provided us with all the political and financial support we needed, and the time has come for us to stand with it in the face of great challenges," said Khaldi.

No common ground

Abbas's arrival in Riyadh came days after a four-day visit by Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy who is preparing to launch a new regional peace initiative involving Saudi Arabia and its Gulf state allies.

But western diplomats said the US team was facing major obstacles because of the lack of any common ground between the two sides.

Palestinian negotiators want a Palestinian state based on the internationally recognised frontiers predating Israel's occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. The Israeli government rejects any discussion of a peace deal based on the 1967 borders.

READ MORE ►
Will Mahmoud Abbas resign in Riyadh too?

One western diplomat told MEE that the US team was keen to include the Palestinian issue within its regional diplomatic file to give Israel more incentives to accept a peace deal and to focus some Arab pressure on Abbas.

Israeli media said this week that the government had already started lobbying on behalf of Saudi Arabia against the common enemy of Iran, amid growing Israeli concern over Iranian influence in neighbouring Lebanon.

"Israel will launch an international diplomatic campaign against Iranian interference in Lebanon's political arena," Israel's Channel 10 reported on Monday.

The channel also said the Israeli Foreign Ministry on Sunday instructed Israeli embassies in the world to work in this direction.

"The ambassadors were asked to explain the support of Israel to Saudi Arabia in light of Iran's involvement in the war in Yemen [where Iran is alleged to back Houthi rebels] and in Lebanon," it reported.

The crown prince's diplomatic overtures to Abbas come amid competing efforts by Saudi Arabia, and its allies, and Iran for influence over Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that has controlled Gaza since 2007 but recently signed a deal with Abbas's Fatah party to form a unity government.

The deal was signed after the UAE, a key Saudi ally, was reported to have agreed to pump $15m a month in aid into the enclave which has been blockaded by Israel since 2007.

But Hamas has also recently established closer ties with Iran, sending a senior delegation to Tehran earlier this year. In August, Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar described relations with Iran as "excellent" and said the country was the "largest supporter" of Hamas's al-Qassam Brigades in terms of arms and money.

Earlier this month Saleh Arouri, the deputy chairman of Hamas' political bureau, also held talks in Beirut with Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah amid reports that the Iran-backed Lebanese Shia movement was trying to restore ties between Hamas and Syria.

The reconciliation agreement between Fatah and Hamas, under which the PA would assume responsibility for security in Gaza, includes a four-month test phase known as the "Empowerment of the Government" in which the Fatah-controlled PA is supposed to assume control of government departments, crossings and security services in Gaza.

But doubts remain over whether the deal will hold because Hamas has said that any disarmament of the al-Qassam Brigades is a "red line" and has called for thousands of members of its existing security forces in Gaza to be integrated with the PA's security apparatus.

Hazem Atallah, the head of the Palestinian police, on Wednesday called for Hamas to disarm to allow the unity deal to succeed.

"How can we do security work in the presence of these guns and rockets? This is not possible, it is impossible," Atallah said.

He added: "We security men are not the decision makers, and we implement what is decided by the political level, but I say that this is not possible."

The solution is to remove these weapons away, or bury them in the ground, Atallah said.

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Abbas in Riyadh: Saudis court Palestinian support for grand alliance with Israel

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RAMALLAH - Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman invited Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to Riyadh this week as part of plans to form a grand regional alliance including both Israel and Palestine to confront Iran, Palestinian officials and western diplomats told Middle East Eye on Wednesday.

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NEW YORK - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told the UN General Assembly on Wednesday that Israel was evading its responsibility to end the occupation.

"While we call to end the occupation, Israel incites and pretends there's no Palestinian partner for peace," Abbas said, addressing the UN General Assembly hours after U.S. President Donald Trump told him that now might be the Palestinians' "best shot ever" to achieve peace.
>>FULL TEXT: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' address to UN General Assembly
Abbas said the United Nations bore a legal, political, moral and humanitarian obligation to end the occupation, adding that Israel knew that the occupation bred incitement and violence.

"Draining the swamp of Israeli occupation would greatly affect the fight on terror," he said, adding that ending the occupation would deprive terror groups of a key rallying cry.

"We called on Israel's prime minister to sit with us to negotiate. He rejected this offer," Abbas said, adding that "Israeli policies stir religious animosity and may lead to a violent religious conflict."

Abbas told the General Assembly that Jerusalem was an occupied city, saying that Israel's decisions there were null and void and illegal. He added that "we cannot allow Israeli occupation to continue without cost."

According to Abbas, "our problem is with the Israeli occupation and not with Judaism as a religion." He pondered if "the world can accept an apartheid regime in the 21st century" and asked: "Has the international community surrendered to the fact that Israel is a country above the law?"

Abbas criticized Britain for "failing to rectify the grave injustice it inflicted on the Palestinians when it issued the Balfour Declaration in 1917."

He urged countries that have not yet recognized the State of Palestine to do, noting that "Israel has no borders. How can you recognize a state with no borders?"

Abbas also called for a blacklist of companies operating in Israeli settlements, similar to terrorist blacklists.

He also saluted "our glorious martyrs and our courageous prisoners in Israeli jails."

Earlier, Trump noted that Israeli-Palestinian peace was considered the "toughest deal of all" to achieve, but vowed to devote "everything within my heart and within my soul to get that deal made."

Trump said Saudi Arabia and other Arab states were making efforts to advance the peace process. "Who knows, stranger things have happened, but we have a good chance," he said, adding: "No promises, obviously."

Abbas praised Trump and his team, saying that its efforts had given him the confidence that "we are on the verge of real peace."

He conveyed greetings to Jews, who are celebrating Rosh Hashanah, and Muslims, who are celebrating the Islamic new year this weekend. The fact that the two holidays are taking place around the same time is "an indication we can coexist peacefully together."

In response, Israel's U.N. ambassador says Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas' speech at the General Assembly "spread falsehoods" that "encourage hate."

Ambassador Danny Danon issued a statement after the Palestinian Authority president spoke Wednesday about the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Abbas said Israel is jeopardizing the two-state solution by continuing to expand its settlements on Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem.
He also warned Israel it would be like "playing with fire" to make any unilateral decisions about a site sacred to both Muslims and Jews in the Old City of Jerusalem.

Tensions rose recently after Israel installed, then removed, metal detectors following the shooting of two Israeli police.
The Israeli ambassador says, in his words: "Today's lies and excuses have proven once again that the Palestinian leadership is a serial evader of peace."

Trump has met with Abbas twice since assuming office. Their first meeting took place in early May, when Abbas arrived for a state visit to Washington. The meeting was described as good and productive by both sides.

Two weeks later, however, the two leaders' meeting in Bethlehem, part of Trump's first trip abroad as president, was reportedly tense and uncomfortable.

Since then, Abbas has met twice with Trump's senior advisers who are working on the peace process, and he has publicly expressed his commitment to Trump's attempt to renew negotiations with Israel.

In an interview with the London-based Arabic-language daily Al-Quds al-Arabi, Abbas confirmed that in his most recent conversation with Jared Kushner, the senior Trump adviser asked for a month-long time-out to develop ideas that would be presented to both the Israelis and the Palestinians.

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Abbas at UN: We'll give Trump's peace efforts a chance, UN bears obligation to end occupation

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NEW YORK - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told the UN General Assembly on Wednesday that Israel was evading its responsibility to end the occupation. "While we call to end the occupation, Israel incites and pretends there's no Palestinian partner for peace," Abbas said, addressing the UN General Assembly hours after U.S.

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Everything you need to know about Israel-Palestine

19 Cards

EDITED BY Zack Beauchamp

2018-05-14 10:20:00 -0400

1. What are Israel and Palestine? Why are they fighting?

2. What is Zionism?

3. How did Israel become a country in the first place?

4. What is the Nakba?

5. What is the West Bank?

6. What is Jerusalem?

7. What is Gaza?

8. What are settlements, and why are they such a big deal?

9. What is the Palestinian Liberation Organization? How about Fatah and the Palestinian Authority?

10. What is Hamas?

11. What were the intifadas?

12. How are other Middle Eastern countries handling the conflict?

13. Why are the US and Israel so friendly?

14. How does the world feel about Israel/Palestine?

15. What is the Israeli-Palestinian peace process?

16. How do the current Israeli and Palestinian governments approach the conflict?

17. What are the "two-state solution" and the "one-state solution"?

18. What happens if the peace process fails?

19. What else should I read on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?

1. Card 1 of 19

What are Israel and Palestine? Why are they fighting?

2. Card 2 of 19

What is Zionism?

3. Card 3 of 19

How did Israel become a country in the first place?

4. Card 4 of 19

What is the Nakba?

5. Card 5 of 19

What is the West Bank?

6. Card 6 of 19

What is Jerusalem?

7. Card 7 of 19

What is Gaza?

8. Card 8 of 19

What are settlements, and why are they such a big deal?

9. Card 9 of 19

What is the Palestinian Liberation Organization? How about Fatah and the Palestinian Authority?

10. Card 10 of 19

What is Hamas?

11. Card 11 of 19

What were the intifadas?

12. Card 12 of 19

How are other Middle Eastern countries handling the conflict?

13. Card 13 of 19

Why are the US and Israel so friendly?

14. Card 14 of 19

How does the world feel about Israel/Palestine?

15. Card 15 of 19

What is the Israeli-Palestinian peace process?

16. Card 16 of 19

How do the current Israeli and Palestinian governments approach the conflict?

Warily. Neither side thinks the other is in any position to make a real deal, and it's not exactly clear how the US government could change their mind.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas doesn't trust the Israeli government, which is currently led by a right-wing coalition. Settlement expansion is one of the main reasons; settlement construction reached a seven-year high under Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's leadership. Abbas sees the rapid expansion during Netanyahu's time in office as strong evidence that Israel is attempting to make a Palestinian state impossible. While Netanyahu did freeze settlement expansion everywhere but Jerusalem for 10 months starting in November 2009, Palestinians wanted a total freeze, and so only sat down to talk in the ninth month (the talks went nowhere).

Netanyahu has been a critic of a two-state solution to the conflict for decades, and while he's expressed support for one now in theory, many believe his commitment isn't genuine. He's the first leader of Likud, Israel's major right-wing party, to endorse a two-state solution while in power, which he did under heavy American pressure in 2009.

But while campaigning during the 2015 Israeli election, which his party won fairly resoundingly, Netanyahu announced that there would be no Palestinian state under his watch. It's a statement he's tried to walk back, but one that's consistent with his long-held belief that Palestinians can't be trusted to be peaceful neighbors.

Israel has real reasons to be skeptical of the Palestinian side. One major one is the Hamas-Fatah split. Since Hamas took control of Gaza, Israel has been concerned that any peace agreement with the Palestinian Authority wouldn't stick in Gaza, where it has no real control. That's especially worrying for the Israeli leadership given Hamas's public commitment to Israel's destruction. Moreover, it's not clear that Abbas could sell Palestinians on the concessions he'd inevitably need to make in order to make a deal with Israel.

The two sides' basic skepticism of each other's willingness and ability to make peace is the fundamental reason that the peace push led by US Secretary of State John Kerry fell apart in April 2014. Since then, the Palestinians have turned toward a pressure campaign designed to isolate Israel internationally and put pressure on the Israeli leadership to make peace, which has had little success.

17. Card 17 of 19

What are the "two-state solution" and the "one-state solution"?

18. Card 18 of 19

What happens if the peace process fails?

19. Card 19 of 19

What else should I read on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?

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How do the current Israeli and Palestinian governments approach the conflict?

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19 Cards EDITED BY Zack Beauchamp 2018-05-14 10:20:00 -0400 What are Israel and Palestine? Why are they fighting? What is Zionism? How did Israel become a country in the first place? What is the Nakba? What is the West Bank? What is Jerusalem? What is Gaza?

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Everything you need to know about Israel-Palestine

19 Cards

EDITED BY Zack Beauchamp

2018-05-14 10:20:00 -0400

1. What are Israel and Palestine? Why are they fighting?

2. What is Zionism?

3. How did Israel become a country in the first place?

4. What is the Nakba?

5. What is the West Bank?

6. What is Jerusalem?

7. What is Gaza?

8. What are settlements, and why are they such a big deal?

9. What is the Palestinian Liberation Organization? How about Fatah and the Palestinian Authority?

10. What is Hamas?

11. What were the intifadas?

12. How are other Middle Eastern countries handling the conflict?

13. Why are the US and Israel so friendly?

14. How does the world feel about Israel/Palestine?

15. What is the Israeli-Palestinian peace process?

16. How do the current Israeli and Palestinian governments approach the conflict?

17. What are the "two-state solution" and the "one-state solution"?

18. What happens if the peace process fails?

19. What else should I read on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?

1. Card 1 of 19

What are Israel and Palestine? Why are they fighting?

2. Card 2 of 19

What is Zionism?

3. Card 3 of 19

How did Israel become a country in the first place?

4. Card 4 of 19

What is the Nakba?

5. Card 5 of 19

What is the West Bank?

6. Card 6 of 19

What is Jerusalem?

7. Card 7 of 19

What is Gaza?

8. Card 8 of 19

What are settlements, and why are they such a big deal?

9. Card 9 of 19

What is the Palestinian Liberation Organization? How about Fatah and the Palestinian Authority?

10. Card 10 of 19

What is Hamas?

11. Card 11 of 19

What were the intifadas?

12. Card 12 of 19

How are other Middle Eastern countries handling the conflict?

13. Card 13 of 19

Why are the US and Israel so friendly?

14. Card 14 of 19

How does the world feel about Israel/Palestine?

15. Card 15 of 19

What is the Israeli-Palestinian peace process?

16. Card 16 of 19

How do the current Israeli and Palestinian governments approach the conflict?

Warily. Neither side thinks the other is in any position to make a real deal, and it's not exactly clear how the US government could change their mind.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas doesn't trust the Israeli government, which is currently led by a right-wing coalition. Settlement expansion is one of the main reasons; settlement construction reached a seven-year high under Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's leadership. Abbas sees the rapid expansion during Netanyahu's time in office as strong evidence that Israel is attempting to make a Palestinian state impossible. While Netanyahu did freeze settlement expansion everywhere but Jerusalem for 10 months starting in November 2009, Palestinians wanted a total freeze, and so only sat down to talk in the ninth month (the talks went nowhere).

Netanyahu has been a critic of a two-state solution to the conflict for decades, and while he's expressed support for one now in theory, many believe his commitment isn't genuine. He's the first leader of Likud, Israel's major right-wing party, to endorse a two-state solution while in power, which he did under heavy American pressure in 2009.

But while campaigning during the 2015 Israeli election, which his party won fairly resoundingly, Netanyahu announced that there would be no Palestinian state under his watch. It's a statement he's tried to walk back, but one that's consistent with his long-held belief that Palestinians can't be trusted to be peaceful neighbors.

Israel has real reasons to be skeptical of the Palestinian side. One major one is the Hamas-Fatah split. Since Hamas took control of Gaza, Israel has been concerned that any peace agreement with the Palestinian Authority wouldn't stick in Gaza, where it has no real control. That's especially worrying for the Israeli leadership given Hamas's public commitment to Israel's destruction. Moreover, it's not clear that Abbas could sell Palestinians on the concessions he'd inevitably need to make in order to make a deal with Israel.

The two sides' basic skepticism of each other's willingness and ability to make peace is the fundamental reason that the peace push led by US Secretary of State John Kerry fell apart in April 2014. Since then, the Palestinians have turned toward a pressure campaign designed to isolate Israel internationally and put pressure on the Israeli leadership to make peace, which has had little success.

17. Card 17 of 19

What are the "two-state solution" and the "one-state solution"?

18. Card 18 of 19

What happens if the peace process fails?

19. Card 19 of 19

What else should I read on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How do the current Israeli and Palestinian governments approach the conflict?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
19 Cards EDITED BY Zack Beauchamp 2018-05-14 10:20:00 -0400 What are Israel and Palestine? Why are they fighting? What is Zionism? How did Israel become a country in the first place? What is the Nakba? What is the West Bank? What is Jerusalem? What is Gaza?

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Washington must establish a clear position regarding the establishment of a Palestinian state based on 1967 borders, Palestinians said after President Mahmoud Abbas and King Abdullah II concluded a meeting as part of the Jordanian monarch's visit to Ramallah on Monday.

The statement, made by Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erakat, came after the two leaders met in an effort to improve joint cooperation following the Temple Mount crisis that has rocked Jerusalem and provoked unrest throughout the West Bank in recent weeks.

According to Eregat, alongside full coordination on the two leaders' positions, they also agreed that Washington must clearly decide the goal for the diplomatic process between Israel and the Palestinians is the foundation of a Palestinian state on the basis of the two-state solution. He also said that Washington must agree that negotiations require a complete freeze in settlement construction, including in East Jerusalem.

The visit to Ramallah by the Jordanian leader also follows the recent shooting of two Jordanian nationals by an Israeli embassy guard after being attacked. A preliminary investigation into the incident has been opened in Israel, after Jordan made clear that the embassy would remain shuttered until an investigation take place.

According to Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki, the Monday meeting resulted in the construction of a joint Palestinian-Jordanian team that will be assigned to deal with future crises and seek to improve joint coordination following the latest Temple Mount flare-up.

Abbas spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said that the meeting was "an important visit that constitutes a continuation of close coordination between the two sides on all levels."

According to King Abdullah, the future of the Palestinian issue is now at a crossroads and the possibility of reaching a peace agreement is becoming more difficult.

The Jordanian leader told lawmakers on Sunday that "there will be no breakthrough in the peace process if there is no commitment to supporting a solution to the Palestinian issue," Jordan's Petra news agency reported.

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Abbas, Jordan king seek Trump commitment to two-state solution, Palestinians say

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Washington must establish a clear position regarding the establishment of a Palestinian state based on 1967 borders, Palestinians said after President Mahmoud Abbas and King Abdullah II concluded a meeting as part of the Jordanian monarch's visit to Ramallah on Monday.

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The Question of the Right to Return of Palestinian Refugees

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The Question of the Right to Return of Palestinian Refugees

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Of the four core issues to resolve for an Israeli-Palestinian peace (security, borders/settlements, Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees) it is the refugee question that gets the least attention by non-specialists. And it is the core issue least addressed publically in detail by Israeli and Palestinian leaders.

Israelis, including Prime Minister Netanyahu, emphasize that Israel will not jeopardize the Jewish character of their state by allowing any Palestinian "right of return." At the 2011 U.N. General Assembly, he said "we want them to give up the fantasy of flooding Israel with millions of Palestinians." (Israel now has about 1.5 million Palestinian citizens, 20% of the population, and about 290,000 Palestinians living in Jerusalem.) Palestinians, including President Abbas at the same UNGA, focus on the suffering of the refugees and call for implementation of their "sacred" rights as stated in U.N. Resolution 194 of December 11, 1948, that "refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbors should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return..."

What is a Palestinian refugee? How did they come to be refugees? The operational definition of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) is any person whose "normal place of residence was Palestine during the period 1 June 1946 to 15 May 1948 and who lost both home and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 conflict." UNRWA includes successor generations in this definition, meaning that the number of refugees who qualify under UNRWA standards is now nearly five million.

UNRWA was created in December 1949 and began working in May 1950 when it assumed the work of the U.N. Relief for Palestinian Refugees operation and acquired the files of the International Committee of the Red Cross. In 1949 the U.N. Conciliation Commission listed 726,000 refugees. UNRWA in 1950 registered some 860,000 and later assumed responsibility for over 300,000 persons displaced or made refugees by the 1967 war. UNRWA now has almost five million registered refugees with some 1.5 million living is 58 camps located in Jordan, Lebanon, Gaza Strip, Syria and the West Bank including East Jerusalem. It operates 700 schools, including vocational training, and 137 primary health care clinics. UNRWA states its mission is to help Palestinian refugees achieve their full potential in human development. In addition to education and health services, it also provides relief for the most vulnerable. Almost all funding is from voluntary contributions. For 2011 the U.S. contributed about $239 million of a total budget of just under $1 billion.

Palestinian refugees face widely different circumstances. In the West Bank and Gaza their standard of living is similar to that of the non-refugee population. In Jordan, most are full citizens, live similarly to other citizens and only about 17% live in camps, which effectively have become urban neighborhoods. In Syria, the refugees are non-citizens but have normal access to employment and social services, and their condition is about the same as others in Syria. In Lebanon, stateless refugees are prohibited from owning property and have many restrictions on seeking employment, inducing many to leave the country. Elsewhere in the Arab world, the Palestinians are typically treated as foreign visitors and residents.

The government of Israel has long been ambivalent about UNRWA but the prevailing view is that its educational, health and material support of the refugees in the West Bank, Gaza and beyond has been a source of stability and has relieved Israel of a large burden of care. Similarly, the PA strongly supports continued UNRWA operations in the West Bank and Gaza, as well as in the Arab countries.

These are the basic facts. But Israelis and Palestinians hold very different narratives on how the Palestinians actually came to be refugees, who is responsible and what should be done to resolve the problem. The underlying basis of this difference is that the refugee issue is inextricably a part of Israel's founding narrative on the one hand and of the Palestinian narrative of dispossession and catastrophe (al Nakba) on the other. Moreover, the nearly 1.5 million Palestinians now living in camps are an enormous humanitarian challenge.

The Palestinian narrative holds that the dispossessions started well before the 1948 war with Zionist armed groups terrorizing Palestinian towns and villages, killing, expelling and frightening some 700,000 inhabitants to leave. These armed groups also destroyed many villages. This all followed a conscious decision of the Zionist leaders and continued during and for months after the war. The same thing happened again in the 1967 war.

To resolve the issue, Palestinians refer to Resolution 194 and demand that the refugees be given the choices stated therein, including the right of return, and also that they have the right to Palestinian citizenship or of the country of their choosing. Israel must acknowledge responsibility and pay compensation.

The Israeli narrative holds that the 1948 war was forced on them because the Arabs rejected the U.N. partition plan of 1947, that most refugees fled voluntarily or because of guidance by Arab leaders, and that refugees are a usual result of war. Israel is not responsible. To accept historical responsibility for creating the refugee situation could feed the Palestinian and Arab view that the Israeli state was "born in sin" and open up Israel to demands for billions of dollars in compensation claims (one reason why the Israeli formulation, "end of conflict, end of claims"). As a sovereign state, Israel has the right to define itself as Jewish and to regulate immigration and entry. Accepting a right of Palestinian return would be an act of suicide and no state can be expected to do that.

To resolve the issue, the Palestinian refugees should be absorbed by the Arab states, or elsewhere, any compensation should be paid by the international community and no responsibility or culpability assigned to Israel. Some Israeli leaders express willingness to consider admitting a very limited number of refugees under the rubric of family reunification.

In 1949 at the urging of the United States, the Israeli government offered to take 100,000 returnees as part of a peace deal. When overall peace efforts collapsed, this offer was withdrawn. Over the decades since, no progress was made in bridging the wide gap until after a group of Israeli historians (the "new historians" as Benny Morris termed them) in the late 1980s and '90s used newly-declassified Israeli documents to re-evaluate what had happened in the 1940s. They concluded that there was a basis to some of the Palestinian assertions and that the events were a mixture of both narratives. This led to a number of changes in Israel, including the willingness of leaders to risk shifting away from the traditional narrative in talks with Palestinian counterparts.

Thus, by 2000 in a series of talks that led to Camp David and then to follow-on negotiations at Taba, the two sides engaged on the refugee issue as part of the search for a comprehensive deal. While some progress was made at Camp David, and President Clinton said he thought getting to agreement was more a matter of formulations rather than one of practical realities, the basic gap remained on the right of return versus Israel's fear of any return beyond limited humanitarian reunifications. At the Taba talks, according to a person present, the Israelis put forward a suggested joint narrative on which there was much progress but no agreement. Those negotiations ended early in 2001 with the Israeli elections and Prime Minister Barak's eventual defeat in February.

Having replaced Ariel Sharon in 2006, Prime Minister Olmert initiated a new peace effort, including direct talks with President Abbas. This initiative ended in 2008 when Olmert was forced from office. Palestinian attempts in those negotiations to accommodate some Israeli positions became public with the leak in January 2011 of the so-called Palestine Papers, the notes from internal and bilateral meetings with Israeli counterparts. These documents had their leaders open to accepting a very limited return of 10,000 refugees over 10 years and Abbas saying that large-scale return was illogical since that would mean the end of Israel.

This leak put in sharp relief the "right" and desire versus the reality, caused uproar in Palestine and put Abbas and his negotiators on the defensive. Yet it also resulted in broader Palestinian discussion of the realities of the return issue that could help in finding a solution when serious peace negotiations began again. The maintenance of the "right" of return remains very important to Palestinian refugees, but there apparently is also recognition that its actual implementation is a different matter. This is what President Clinton was referring to.

With the failure of Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts and a rightward shift in Israeli politics, there is now a reversion there to the traditional position and several efforts are underway to re-characterize the Palestinian refugee problem in a way even less amenable to agreement. Also, over recent years the Netanyahu government has insisted that the Palestinian Authority (PA) must recognize Israel as a Jewish state. Palestinians have strongly rebuffed this, seeing it as a way Israel tries to win concessions on the right of return in advance of negotiations.

In April, Israel's Foreign Ministry announced a major campaign to link the issue of the Palestinian refugees with that of the Jews who left Arab and Islamic countries for Israel. The Ministry's announcement declares that "a true solution to the issue of refugees will only be possible when the Arab League will take historic responsibility for its role in creating the Jewish and Palestinian refugee problem...There should be a joint solution between the Arab countries and the international community in order to provide compensation for both Palestinian and Jewish refugees...There should be an immediate discontinuation of the perpetuation of the Palestinian refugee issue."

Subsequently, six members of Congress introduced legislation that would "ensure recognition of the plight of the nearly one million Jewish refugees who were displaced from countries in the Middle East, North Africa and the Persian Gulf as a result of the Arab-Israeli conflict" and "would help secure equal treatment of Palestinian and Jewish refugees."

In Israel, blanket characterization as "refugees" of Jews immigrating there from Arab and Islamic countries has been controversial. Many such immigrants have declared it was the "pull" of Zionism and attraction of a Jewish homeland that motivated their immigration and not the "push" of their circumstances in their home country. This is apart from the question of property and other losses and costs.

In May, a Senate amendment to the Foreign Operations bill sought to distinguish between those Palestinian refugees who were alive just after the 1948 war and were personally displaced and those born subsequently. Estimates of those still alive from 1948 range between 30 and 50 thousand, compared to the nearly five million now registered and the 1.5 million living in camps. Israeli news reports assert that this amendment was the result of an initiative by an Israeli parliamentarian.

The State Department strongly objected to the amendment, stating that the refugee issue "strikes a deep, emotional chord among Palestinians and their supporters, including our regional allies...and the proposed amendment would be viewed around the world as the U.S. acting to prejudge and determine the outcome of this sensitive issue." Compromise language was inserted that would require the State Department to submit a report providing the approximate number of persons currently receiving UNRWA assistance who fled because of the conflict and those persons born subsequently. The report would also address "the extent to which the provision of such services to such persons furthers the security interests of the U.S. and of other U.S. allies in the Middle East."

There is also increasing commentary in Israel on the perceived dangers of sizable movement of Palestinian refugees into a new state of Palestine in a two-state solution. The argument is that Palestine would be unable to absorb many refugees and the resultant confusion and economic crisis could lead to a breakdown in security with a resultant threat to Israel.

There has never been any realistic expectation that the Palestinian refugee issue could be resolved by any sizable return to Israel. Those working to advance a peace deal, including President Clinton as stated in his parameters after Camp David, believed it possible that Israel would acknowledge some sort of relationship to the dispossession, express regret or sympathy, participate modestly in compensation and agree to some humanitarian return. They also believed that the Palestinians would eventually accept return to Israel on a limited humanitarian basis. But it has been well understood that such an outcome would be possible only in the context of many tradeoffs among all the core and other issues in a final comprehensive deal, including the creation of their own new state of Palestine as their homeland. Mutual recognition of the other's suffering, longings, and legitimacy would be a very important part of a final agreement.

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Israeli-Palestinian Peace: The Palestinian Refugee Challenge

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Of the four core issues to resolve for an Israeli-Palestinian peace (security, borders/settlements, Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees) it is the refugee question that gets the least attention by non-specialists. And it is the core issue least addressed publically in detail by Israeli and Palestinian leaders.