On Tuesday morning just before 10 o’clock, President of The United States, Donald Trump and his convoy drove through the city of Bethlehem, passing the Israeli separation barrier, and meets for a short meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the presidential palace.

The American President met with Abbas and several military officials and religious leaders before having a meeting behind closed doors.

The meeting was followed by a brief press conference after which Trump left Bethlehem to visit the Israel Museum and Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem.

At the press conference Trump said “… the US is here to make that (dream of peace) possible for young Jewish, Muslim and Christian children,” and added that “Abbas assures me he is ready to work toward that goal in good faith, and (Israeli Prime Minister) Benjamin Netanyahu has promised the same.”

Mahmoud Abbas stated that he hopes Israel will comply with the fair demands of human rights that several hundreds of Palestinian hunger strikers seek.

In regards to peace between Israel and Palestine he said that “our problem is with the occupation and settlements and the failure of Israel to recognize the state of Palestine in the same way we recognize them,” and that “we hope history will testify to the fact that President Donald Trump was the one who achieved peace,” whilst proclaiming that “the problem is not between us and Judaism, it is between us and occupation.”

It is estimated that approximately 2000 members of Palestinian security forces were sent to Bethlehem for the occasion.

Source: PNN