Trump Threatens Aid to Palestine in Davos Talk With Netanyahu: 'The Money is On the Table'

Source: Mediate




by Rachel Dicker | 11:24 am, January 25th, 2018

President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a press conference in which Bibi praised the president for the steps he’s taken to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem.

“I want to express the appreciation of the people of Israel to you,” Netanyahu said to Trump, shaking his hand. The two discussed the difficult process of speaking to the UN about their decision – one that the vast majority of countries disagree with.

Trump then discussed the funds that the United States allocates to Palestine and threatened to stop providing it unless Palestine will “sit down and negotiate peace.” This was a strange turn of events given that no one has been apprised of any kind of peace negotiations between Israel and Palestine — let alone talks facilitated by the United States. “That money is on the table, that money is not going to them … this was never brought up by other negotiators, but it’s brought up by me,” he continued. “Respect has to be shown to the U.S.”

In reality, as the Los Angeles Times points out: “The United States does not pay large amounts of money directly to the Palestinian Authority, the government that rules over parts of the Palestinian West Bank. Instead, most money goes to the U.N., refugee or aid agencies and even Israel to pay for roads, welfare, schools, security and other Palestinian projects.”

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Read more: https://www.mediaite.com/tv/trump-threatens-aid-to-palestine-in-davos-talk-with-netanyahu-the-money-is-on-the-table/