by Times of Israel Staff, AP
Prime Minister meets Republican candidate at his Manhattan office, will sit down with Hillary Clinton later Sunday
Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Republican presidential candidate
Donald Trump meeting at the Trump Tower in New York, September 25, 2016.
(Kobi Gideon/GPO)
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Sunday that if elected president, he would recognize Jerusalem as the “undivided capital” of Israel.
Donald
Trump’s camp said the candidate and Netanyahu discussed a wide variety
of issues, including Israel’s experiences in building walls, during a
meeting between the two at the billionaire businessman’s office in
Manhattan, New York. Trump vowed to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s
undivided capital, in the event he is elected.
“Mr. Trump said that under a Trump
administration, there will be extraordinary strategic, technological,
military and intelligence cooperation between the two countries. Mr.
Trump recognized Israel as a vital partner of the United States in the
global war against radical Islamic terrorism,” a statement from the
Trump campaign read. “Mr. Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu discussed
at length Israel’s successful experience with a security fence that
helped secure its borders.”
“Mr. Trump acknowledged that Jerusalem has
been the eternal capital of the Jewish People for over 3,000 years, and
that the United States, under a Trump administration, will finally
accept the long-standing Congressional mandate to recognize Jerusalem as
the undivided capital of the State of Israel,” the statement added.
Trump also said the two discussed “at length
the nuclear deal with Iran, the battle against ISIS and many other
regional security concerns.”
“Mr. Trump recognized that Israel and its
citizens have suffered far too long on the front lines of Islamic
terrorism. He agreed with Prime Minister Netanyahu that the Israeli
people want a just and lasting peace with their neighbors, but that
peace will only come when the Palestinians renounce hatred and violence
and accept Israel as a Jewish State,” according to the release.
The two convened for an hour and 20 minutes in Trump Tower, in Manhattan.
Netanyahu’s bureau released a statement saying the prime minister “thanked Mr. Trump for his friendship and support of Israel.”
Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Republican presidential candidate
Donald Trump meeting at the Trump Tower in New York, September 25, 2016.
(Kobi Gideon/GPO)
“Prime Minister Netanyahu presented to Mr.
Trump Israel’s stance regarding regional issues related to Israel’s
security and its efforts to bring peace and stability to the region,”
the prime minister’s statement read.
Pictures released by the Prime Minister’s
Office show the two shaking hands and smiling in Trump’s gilded home in
the Trump Tower.
Trump had seemed to suggest earlier in his
campaign that he would not support military aid to Israel or other
countries, but the statement seems to walk that back.
“Mr. Trump agreed that the military assistance
provided to Israel and missile defense cooperation with Israel are an
excellent investment for America,” the statement reads.
Present at the meeting with the two were also
envoy to the US Ron Dermer and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, an
Orthodox Jew who advises the candidate on Israel.
Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton was
expected to meet Netanyahu later on Sunday. Both meetings had the
potential to set the tone for relations between the allied countries
during the next presidential administration.
Both meetings were closed to the press.
Sources close to Netanyahu said he is meeting
the candidates in their homes or offices because he appreciates they are
busy ahead of the presidential debate, scheduled for tomorrow.
Trump tweeted Sunday that he was “looking
forward to” his meeting with Netanyahu at Trump Tower, where the
candidate lives. In meeting both candidates, the Israeli leader was
seeking to project neutrality this time after perceptions arose that he
favored Mitt Romney over President Barack Obama in 2012.
Republican
presidential nominee Donald Trump in Roanoke, Virginia on September 24,
2016 and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton September 21,
2016 in Orlando, Florida. (AFP)
According to Israeli sources, the meetings
were set up after the Trump campaign spoke to Netanyahu’s staff on
Friday. Netanyahu’s office then reached out to the Clinton campaign in a
bid to avoid the appearance of favoring the GOP candidate.
A senior Israeli official in New York said
Thursday that neither Clinton nor Trump had asked to meet with
Netanyahu, according to a Bloomberg report.
The one-on-one discussions will follow what
was likely Netanyahu’s final meeting with Obama last week, capping what
has been a sometimes rocky relationship between the leaders of the two
allies.
US
President Barack Obama, right, shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu during a bilateral meeting in New York, September
21, 2016. (AFP/Jim Watson)
Trump has been a fierce critic of the Iran
nuclear agreement and promised during a speech to AIPAC earlier this
year that he would deepen ties between the two countries if he were
elected president, adding the days of “treating Israel like a
second-class citizen will end on day one.” But he also raised eyebrows
when he questioned Israel’s commitment to a peace deal last year and
said he didn’t want to show any bias in favor of one side or the other.
Clinton has supported a negotiated two-state
solution in the region, vowed to enforce the Iran nuclear agreement and
help defend Israel’s security. The former secretary of state suggested
in an interview with Israel’s Channel 2 earlier this month that the
Islamic State group was “rooting for Donald Trump’s victory” and he had
helped strengthen the hands of extremists by his provocative statements
about Muslims.
The meetings will also come after the US
recently completed a 10-year, $38-billion military aid package for
Israel. Clinton said in a statement that it would help “solidify and
chart a course for the US-Israeli defense relationship in the 21st
century as we face a range of common challenges.”
Raphael Ahren contributed to this report.
Source: http://www.timesofisrael.com/pm-meets-trump-in-ny-will-sit-down-with-clinton-later/
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