TEL AVIV – President-elect Donald Trump said the Palestinians were “given so much” in last month’s UN Security Council resolution that the prospects of a peace deal under his watch have been made that much more difficult.
In interviews with the Times of London and Germany’s Bild, Trump slammed the U.S. abstention from the vote as “terrible.” The resolution, he said, would harden the Palestinian stance in future negotiations.
“The problem I have is that [Resolution 2334] makes it a tougher deal for me to negotiate because the Palestinians are given so much — even though it’s not legally binding, it’s psychologically binding and it makes it much tougher for me to negotiate,” he said.
“You understand that? Because people are giving away chips, they’re giving away all these chips.”
Trump also said his son-in-law Jared Kushner will work to “broker a Middle East peace deal” as part of his role as senior adviser.
According to the president-elect, Kushner has “an innate ability to make deals.”
“Jared is such a good lad, he will secure an Israel deal which no one else has managed to get. You know, he’s a natural talent, he is the top, he is a natural talent,” he added, according to a translation from the Guardian.
In the past, Trump has hinted that tapping Kushner for the role was a natural choice, saying his son-in-law “knows the region, knows the people, knows the players.”
Trump said his daughter Ivanka, who converted to Judaism in 2009, would have no role in his administration.
He added that he hoped Britain would use its veto against any additional Security Council resolution in the next few days, saying he wasn’t sure the U.S. would play ball despite Secretary of State John Kerry’s assurances to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during Sunday’s peace summit in Paris that the Obama administration would prevent further action at the UN.
“I’m not sure if the U.S. would do so – extraordinarily enough. They won’t do it, right? Do you believe the U.S. will place a veto?” he said.
“I have Jewish friends who organized a donor event for [President Barack] Obama. I say to them: ‘What on earth are you doing? Okay – what are you doing?’” he added.
Trump said the UK’s decision to leave the EU was spurred on by Europe’s refugee policy. He called Germany’s open door policy a “catastrophic mistake” that would ultimately lead to more jihadist attacks in the country.
“If the [UK] hadn’t been forced to take in all of the refugees, so many, with all the problems that it, you know, entails, I think that you wouldn’t have a Brexit,” he said.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.