Was Trump the First U.S. President to Visit the Western Wall?

Dr. Majid Rafizadeh, President of the International American Council and board member of the US-Middle East Chamber of Business and Commerce, wrote an op-ed for the Huffington Post, where he assessed that Trump’s comments reflected the shared goal of stamping out extremism and addressing Iran as the number one state-sponsor of terrorism. Israel has never been committed to the plan and it is uncertain whether the current USA administration wants to revive it.

To be sure, however, there were many photo ops. But in reality, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will be even harder to resolve than the investigations and allegations dogging Mr. Trump back home. This, however, does not suggest that the U.S. has a magic wand and can simply wave it and change overnight the dynamics of the multiple conflicts sweeping and consuming the region. Trump a $110 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia. In a speech on Tuesday at the Israel Museum, Mr. Trump proclaimed that the “Palestinians are ready to reach for peace”, adding that Mr. Netanyahu also “wants peace”.

Since it is located in East Jerusalem, which is occupied by Israel but regarded as Palestinians as the future capital of their state, successive USA presidents avoided visiting the wall.

“President Trump risked stepping on his own narrative of strong support for Israel and restarting peace talks with his “I didn’t say the word Israel” moment”.

One activist suffered a broken arm as Israeli police dispersed the non-violent protest. But there are still no signs of hope for the peaceful coexistence of the Jewish country with Palestine.

This week President Donald Trump visited Israel and Jerusalem.

The poll also found that “a slim majority of 51% supports and 48% oppose the two-state solution”. Trump would not permit Netanyahu or any other Israeli to be at the Kotel with him. “And at the end, it is nothing new”.

It suggests that there is a clear intention on part of the Trump administration to attempt to find a solution. And he won plaudits from both his Israeli and Palestinian hosts. They didn’t. On the contrary, the cash payments and the lifting of economic sanctions – Tehran’s reward for the nuclear deal – have only given its geopolitical thrusts more power and reach.

Rather than concern himself with the “Three R-s”, Trump relies on the “Four I-s” (Impulsiveness, Instinctiveness, and Intuition in his I-first worldview) when making decisions.

If Washington tackles the Middle East issues under a strategy created to exclude Iran, its actions are likely to widen the rift between Iran and Arab states, causing tensions in the entire region to rise further.

Nevertheless, Lieberman said, “We are following developments and are aware and have ways of dealing with this”. And the White House reportedly conveyed that in their meeting Trump and Francis discussed “how religious communities can combat suffering in ‘crisis regions, ‘ such as Syria, Libya and areas controlled by Islamic State terrorists”.

Trump ignores the basic fact that regardless of Iran’s mischiefs and transgressions, it is here to stay. Yes, we get it – it meant to say peace, but who’s to say the two sides can’t bond over some delicious fruit?

The language and the tone here are significantly different from the language and the tone used by Trump during his election campaign. And without real progress in that direction, suggestions that Saudi Arabia will openly engage with the Jewish state in serious ways will remain fanciful.

“The big question is not whether the visit was symbolic rather than substantial but whether it will have long term affects”. There was no progress in in the search for a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Despite concerns raised by groups like J Street, Franks believes the USA has a duty to stand with Israel.