Peace means compromise
Trump tells Israel; Modi heads to Palestinian territories
US President Donald Trump yesterday told Israel that it too would need to make "significant compromises" for peace with the Palestinians, even as they accused one of his Middle East envoys of bogging down diplomacy with what they see as pro-Israel bias.
The Palestinians were outraged by Trump's December 6 recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, a move overturning decades of US reticence on the city's status, and say they are looking at additional world powers as potential mediators.
In an interview with an Israeli newspaper that was excerpted ahead of its full publication tomorrow, Trump described his Jerusalem move as a "high point" of his first year in office.
The language of Trump's announcement did not rule out a presence in Jerusalem for the Palestinians, who want the eastern part of the city - captured by Israel in a 1967 war and annexed in a move not recognised internationally - as their own capital.
"I wanted to make clear that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. Regarding specific borders, I will grant my support to what the two sides agree between themselves," he told the conservative Israel Hayom daily, in remarks published in Hebrew.
"I think that both sides will have to make significant compromises in order for achieving a peace deal to be possible," Trump added, without elaborating.
Most world powers deem the settlements illegal, but the Trump administration has taken a softer tack.
Meanwhile, after a public embrace of Israel as a strategic partner, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi headed to the Palestinian territories and the Gulf countries yesterday to bolster long-standing political and economic ties.
India was one of the earliest champions of the Palestinian cause but in recent years turned to Israel for high-tech military equipment and anti-terrorism cooperation.
Under Modi, whose nationalist party sees Israel as a natural ally against Islamist extremism, ties have flourished. Modi made the first trip to Israel by an Indian prime minister last year followed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to India last month.
But Indian officials said India continued to support the Palestinian cause and that Modi's visit is aimed at helping build up the Palestinians' capacity in the health, information technology and education areas.
The two sides are building an India-Palestinian technology park in Ramallah, the Palestinians' seat of government, which will develop IT expertise and generate employment.