Washington — US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday discussed threats from Iran and agreed peace between Israel and the Palestinians must be “negotiated directly,” the White House said.
The two leaders spoke by telephone and “agreed to continue to closely consult on a range of regional issues, including addressing the threats posed by Iran,” the White House said in a statement, signaling the new administration’s tougher line on Tehran.
There was no mention of Trump’s suggestion to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to occupied Jerusalem.
Such a transfer would break with the consensus of the vast majority of the international community, which does not recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
That move — long promised by presidential candidates of all stripes — could provoke a backlash in the region.
The White House on Sunday appeared to play down suggestions that a decision was imminent.
“We are at the very beginning stages of even discussing this subject,” White House press secretary Sean Spicer told AFP.
Like other major powers, the US currently has its embassy in Tel Aviv.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has warned that moving the embassy would deal a huge blow to hopes for Middle East peace, and the UN and EU have voiced deep concern over the proposal.
During the phone call on Sunday, Trump also stressed the need for direct talks between Palestinians and Israelis.
“The President emphasized that peace between Israel and the Palestinians can only be negotiated directly between the two parties, and that the United States will work closely with Israel to make progress towards that goal,” the White House said.
Meanwhile, Israel’s prime minister on Sunday accepted an invitation to visit the White House next month in hopes of forging a “common vision” for the region with President Donald Trump that could include expanded settlement construction on occupied territories and a tougher policy toward Iran.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced his plans to head to Washington in early February hours after delaying a vote on an explosive proposal to annex one of the West Bank’s largest settlements, apparently to coordinate his policy toward the Palestinians with the new administration.
The move put on hold legislation that threatens to unleash fresh violence and damage already faded hopes for Palestinian independence. It also may have marked Trump’s first presidential foray into Middle East diplomacy.
After eight years of frosty relations with President Barack Obama, Netanyahu has welcomed Trump’s election as an opportunity to strengthen ties between the two allies. Israeli media reported that Netanyahu was gearing up plans to expand settlement construction in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem — a policy that had been condemned by Obama.
Late Sunday, the two men held what Netanyahu’s office described as a “very warm conversation” by phone. It said they discussed the international nuclear deal with Iran, which both men have harshly criticized, and the Palestinian issue.
“The prime minister expressed his desire to work closely with President Trump to forge a common vision to advance peace and security in the region, with no daylight between the United States and Israel,” the statement said.
It said a date for Netanyahu’s visit would be finalized in the coming days.
With Trump signaling a more tolerant approach toward the much-maligned settlement movement, Israel’s nationalist right now believes it has an ally in the White House, and Israeli hard-line leaders make no secret they will push for aggressive action in the occupied West Bank.
Education Minister Naftali Bennett, leader of the pro-settlement Jewish Home Party, has been pushing Netanyahu to abandon the internationally backed idea of a Palestinian state and to annex the Maaleh Adumim settlement near Jerusalem.
But after convening his Security Cabinet on Sunday, Netanyahu said his Cabinet ministers, including Bennett, had decided “unanimously” to delay action on the annexation plan until he goes to Washington to meet with Trump.
In order to placate Bennett, Israeli media reports said Netanyahu had promised the ministers to clear the way for expanded settlement construction in east Jerusalem and in major West Bank settlement “blocs” that Israel hopes to keep under a future peace deal. He was quoted as saying his “vision” is to place all settlements under Israeli sovereignty.
In Washington, Trump described their phone call as “very nice.”
Netanyahu, a longtime supporter of the settlements, has nonetheless been cautious about expanding them in the face of strong opposition from the international community. In a final showdown with Israel last month, the Obama administration allowed the UN Security Council to pass a resolution condemning settlements as illegal.
