Trump posts letter from Palestinian leader ahead of Netanyahu meeting
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Former President Trump during a campaign event Saturday in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Photo: Emily Elconin/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Several hours after he announced a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this Friday, former President Trump published a letter he received from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and pledged to work for peace in the Middle East.
Why it matters: Abbas' letter is a signal that the Palestinian president wants to start a new chapter with the Republican presidential nominee following their fallout as a result of Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and move the U.S. embassy to the city in December 2017.
- It also shows that Trump didn't abandon his aspiration to reach a historic peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.
- Trump's post frames his meeting with Netanyahu not only as a photo-op that the Israeli prime minister wanted to get, but as a more substantive meeting about advancing peace amid the war in Gaza.
Driving the news: Abbas sent the letter to Trump on July 14, but it wasn't made public until Trump posted it on his Truth Social account.
- Abbas said in the letter to Trump that he watched footage of the assassination attempt against the former president earlier this month and was gravely concerned.
- "Acts of violence must not have a place in a world of law and order," Abbas wrote.
- Trump sent Abbas the letter back with a handwritten message, saying: "Mahmoud, so nice. Thank you. Everything will be good, Best wishes. Donald Trump."
- In the text of the post Trump wrote: "Looking forward to seeing Bibi Netanyahu on Friday, and even more forward to achieving Peace in the Middle East!"
Flashback: Abbas and Trump hadn't spoken to each other nor exchanged letters since December 2017. The Palestinian president spoke harshly against Trump for his decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
- But in April 2021 Trump told me his conclusion from four years of working on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process was that Abbas wanted peace, while Netanyahu didn't.
- "I thought he was terrific," Trump told me of Abbas, reflecting on their "great" first meeting. "He was almost like a father. Couldn't have been nicer. I thought he wanted to make a deal more than Netanyahu."
- In January 2020, Trump presented a peace plan for a two-state solution that included the establishment of a Palestinian state with a capital in East Jerusalem. Abbas, who was still angry at Trump, refused to engage in it.
- But over the past three years, Abbas has criticized President Biden for not doing enough to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and said that unlike Trump the Democrat had never presented his own peace plan for a two-state solution.
What they're saying: A former Trump administration official called the former president's record of supporting Israel and the Jewish people " unmatched."
- In addition to his action over Jerusalem the former administration official noted that Trump had "stopped funding to the UNRWA, ended the horrific Iran Nuclear Deal, negotiated the historic Abraham Accords, recognized the Golan Heights as part of Israel, signed an executive order Combatting Anti-Semitism on campuses," and more.
- "Once back in the White House, President Trump will stand with Israel and achieve long - lasting Peace in the Middle East," the former official said.
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