What are Trump's positions regarding the Jewish State and the issues that it faces? What will Netanyahu encounter whe he meets with Trump on Wednesday? Three days before that meeting, an interview with the US President was published by Israel's largest daily paper, Israel Hayom. Based on things Trump said, and would not say, Jerusalem continues to adapt to a fast-moving US president whose support for Israel is in a context that is still coming into focus.
Combined with last week's announcement, the decision authorizes a total of 5,500 new homes in Israel's biblical heartland of Judea and Samaria.
Israel is preparing to build 2,500 homes in its communites in Judea and Samaria. It also plans a new Palestinian industrial park near Hebron, the ancient capital of King David and burial site of Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekkah, Jacob and Leah. The PLO, under the leadership of President Mahmoud Abbas, is apoplectic, calling the collective move a "war crime."
"Soon, I will also announce extensive construction in settlement blocs in Judea and Samaria. Under my vision, all the settlements will be under Israeli sovereignty." ~Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Contrary to the world's assertion that Israel is responsible for failure of the two-state solution, Khaled Abu Toameh reports that the reality inside the Palestinian territories is a no-state solution. Abbas's own party is split in half, defecting to Hamas, and most Palestinians want him to go. As a result, there is no functional government to lead an independent Palestinian state.