Rubio not optimistic on prospects of Middle East peace

“Our society can have no tolerance for this continuation of bloodshed”, he said at the start of his press conference with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.

“These cowardly attacks will only strengthen our commitment to work together to defeat the perpetrators of such vile acts”, he said.

Trump has said he wants to broker a deal that has proven elusive for the past two decades. Most alarmingly, officials said, Trump revealed the city in the Islamic State’s territory where the USA intelligence partner detected the threat.

Trump, who was in Bethlehem where he was meeting Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas, said: “I extend my deepest condolences to those so terribly injured in this terrorist attack and to the many killed”.

Trump was considering making that bold announcement during his trip here, but backed off fulfilling that pledge amid a torrent of warnings from USA foreign policy officials and Arab diplomats, who said such a move would hinder peace efforts and set off tensions in the region. The bombing killed at least 22, and injured 59 others. Abbas is an unpopular leader, according to polls, and the Palestinian political landscape is split between his Fatah party and Hamas, the Islamist movement that is in control in the Gaza Strip and opposes negotiations with Israel.

His talks in Bethlehem with the Palestinian president come after Trump on Monday made a heavily symbolic visit to the Western Wall in Jerusalem and met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “Today, this right, ultra-right-wing government has frozen settlement construction and has given Palestinians construction in Area C”, Herzog said, referring to recent moves by Netanyahu’s conservative governing coalition.

Discussing his talks with Abbas, Trump spoke of achieving a peace deal, saying “I am committed to trying to achieve a peace agreement between the Israelis and the Palestinians, and I intend to do everything I can to help them achieve that goal”.

The source also mentioned that nearly all the prisoners on strike are supporters of senior Fatah official Marwan Barghouti, himself a prisoner and the leader of the hunger strike.

Instead, he appears keen to build confidence and assure Netanyahu and Abbas of wider Arab support in the region for peace moves, in the hope they might see fit to take steps and negotiate themselves.

Trump visited the Israel Museum and the Yad Vashem Holocaust remembrance center on Tuesday and now heads to Italy and later is expected to meet with Pope Francis.

On Tuesday, however, Jerusalem became once again a stateless city on the White House feed, leading commentators to speculate on whether they were witness to a clash of policies within the White House and State Department or simply a mistake.

“We have a lot in common, Donald and I”, she told Melania Trump. Trump approached alone and placed his hand on the stone. And he sent a signal of solidarity to an ally he’s pushing to work harder toward peace with the Palestinians. “Never mentioned the word Israel”, Trump reiterated. But Trump hasn’t been accused of doing that. “They never reported that they identified him”.

Trump’s offhand remark was another stark reminder that his troubles at home, including investigations of his campaign’s ties to Russian Federation, have followed him across the ocean.