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Trump casts doubt on Middle East peace talks Trump casts doubt on Middle East peace talks
(about 2 hours later)
US President Donald Trump has questioned whether peace talks with Israel will ever resume, blaming the Palestinians.US President Donald Trump has questioned whether peace talks with Israel will ever resume, blaming the Palestinians.
Mr Trump said Palestinians had "disrespected" the US in the wake of his controversial decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital.Mr Trump said Palestinians had "disrespected" the US in the wake of his controversial decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
"Respect has to be shown to the US or we're just not going any further," he told reporters at Davos."Respect has to be shown to the US or we're just not going any further," he told reporters at Davos.
The Palestinians say the US can no longer be considered a neutral broker.The Palestinians say the US can no longer be considered a neutral broker.
President Mahmoud Abbas has called Mr Trump's declaration on Jerusalem in December the "slap of the century".President Mahmoud Abbas has called Mr Trump's declaration on Jerusalem in December the "slap of the century".
However, sitting alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the World Economic Forum, Mr Trump said: "Israel has always supported the United States so what I did with Jerusalem was my honour. Why the row over Jerusalem?
"We took Jerusalem off the [negotiating] table, so we don't have to talk about it any more. They [the Palestinians] never got past Jerusalem." Sitting alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday, Mr Trump stood by his decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
Turning to Mr Netanyahu, Mr Trump said: "You won one point, and you'll give up some points later on in the negotiation, if it ever takes place - I don't know that it will ever take place." "Israel has always supported the United States so what I did with Jerusalem was my honour," he said.
And he reiterated his view that by taking "Jerusalem off the [negotiating] table... we don't have to talk about it any more" - suggesting it could move forward the peace process.
"They [the Palestinians] never got past Jerusalem," he said.
The status of Jerusalem goes to the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.The status of Jerusalem goes to the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Israel regards Jerusalem as its "eternal and undivided" capital, while the Palestinians claim East Jerusalem - occupied by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war - as the capital of a future state.Israel regards Jerusalem as its "eternal and undivided" capital, while the Palestinians claim East Jerusalem - occupied by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war - as the capital of a future state.
Mr Trump's recognition of the city as Israel's capital broke with decades of a US policy of neutrality on the issue and put it out of step with the rest of the international community. Mr Trump's recognition of the city as Israel's capital in December broke with decades of a US policy of neutrality on the issue and put it out of step with the rest of the international community.
Funds withheld Why does he blame the Palestinians?
President Trump accused the Palestinian leadership of disrespect, particularly when they refused to meet "our great Vice-President" Mike Pence in the region earlier this week.
Mr Trump said he stood by his recent decision to withhold more than half of a $125m (£90m) instalment the US planned to pay the UN relief agency for the Palestinians, a move which was denounced by the Palestinians as blackmail.Mr Trump said he stood by his recent decision to withhold more than half of a $125m (£90m) instalment the US planned to pay the UN relief agency for the Palestinians, a move which was denounced by the Palestinians as blackmail.
"We give them [the Palestinians] hundreds of millions of dollars a year - that is on the table - why should we do something for them when they do nothing for us?" Mr Trump asked."We give them [the Palestinians] hundreds of millions of dollars a year - that is on the table - why should we do something for them when they do nothing for us?" Mr Trump asked.
"I can tell you that Israel does want to make peace and they're [the Palestinians] going to have to want to make peace too or we're going to have nothing to do with it any longer.""I can tell you that Israel does want to make peace and they're [the Palestinians] going to have to want to make peace too or we're going to have nothing to do with it any longer."
Washington has been developing a new framework for peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, but President Abbas has said he will no longer accept any plan proposed by the US. UN alarm as US cuts aid to Palestinians
Mr Trump also accused the Palestinians of having "disrespected our great Vice-President" Mike Pence, when they refused to meet him when he visited the region earlier this week. The US president said his administration had a "proposal for peace" that was "a great proposal for the Palestinians" and suggested Israel was prepared to make some concessions.
The US president has previously spoken of his desire to achieve the "ultimate deal" of bringing peace between Israel and the Palestinians. "You won one point," he said to Mr Netanyahu, referring to Jerusalem, "and you'll give up some points later on in the negotiation, if it ever takes place - I don't know that it will ever take place."
The last round of on-off peace talks between the two sides collapsed amid acrimony in April 2014.The last round of on-off peace talks between the two sides collapsed amid acrimony in April 2014.
What do the Palestinians say?
At a meeting of the UN in New York, soon after Mr Trump had spoken, Palestinian ambassador Riyad Mansour said the decision to reject Washington's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital was not intended as "disrespect" but rather a "position rooted in full respect for the law, for the principles of justice and equity".
Mr Abbas has said he would not accept any peace plan proposed by the US.
He told a meeting of Palestinian leaders earlier this month: "The deal of the century is the slap of the century and we will not accept it."
He suggested the Palestinians were being offered the village of Abu Dis, outside Jerusalem, as the capital of a future Palestinian state.
What does Israel say?
Prime Minister Netanyahu was effusive in his praise of Mr Trump over his decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
"By recognising history, you've made history, and we will always remember that," he told the US president.
He later told a meeting at Davos that "under any peace agreement the capital of Israel will continue to be in Jerusalem".
He also said that "the Palestinians should have all the power to govern themselves but none of the power to threaten us.
"In any political arrangement the Jews must retain security control in the area, because otherwise you'll have [the Islamic State group] ... We have a mosaic of failed states in the Middle East, and we don't want another one," he continued.