US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met last night at the Palace Hotel in New York, where Trump has been holding meetings with world leaders in advance of the meeting of the United Nations General Assembly. Trump will be the second speaker at the General Assembly, at 16:00 Israel time today. Netanyahu will close the morning session with a speech that will be broadcast at 20:00 Israel time.
Trump and Netanyahu gave short statement to the media yesterday evening. President Trump opened by saying that he believed in the chances of peace between Israel and the Palestinians. " I think there is a good chance it could happen; most people would say there is no chance whatsoever. I actually think that with the ability of Bibi, and frankly with the other side, I really think we have a chance,” the US president said.
Netanyahu responded, "I look forward to discussing with you how we can address together what you rightly called is the terrible nuclear deal with Iran and how to roll back Iran's growing aggression in the region, especially in Syria. As you said, we will discuss the way we can seize the opportunity for peace between Israel and the Palestinians and between Israel and the Arab world, I think these things go together and we look forward to talking about how we can advance both."
Netanyahu thanked Trump for the support that the US had given Israel at the UN, saying, "I want to say that under President Trump, America's position towards Israel with the UN has been unequivocal; it's been strong; it's got both clarity and conviction. And I want to thank you on behalf of the people of Israel and Israel's many friends around the world."
Netanyahu hopes to bring about an addition to the nuclear agreement (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) signed with Iran by the US, China, France, Britain, Germany and the EU in 2015. This addition would extend the restrictions on Iran, make explicit reference to Iran's support for terrorist organizations, and forbid research and development at additional installations, besides those mentioned in the existing agreement. The chances of such a move succeeding appear low, as opening the agreement or proposing an additional document would be perceived by the Iranians as a breach, and would be liable to lead to cancellation of the entire original agreement.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 19, 2017
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2017