President Trump was adamant during his White House meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday that although peace has eluded the Israelis and Palestinians for generations, “We’ll get this done.” In fact, in President Trump’s opinion, making peace is “something that, I think, is frankly maybe not as difficult as people have thought over the years.” The immediate reaction to the meeting demonstrated how quickly the public has become used to President Trump’s swagger particularly in relation to his order of business for the nation. Most observers were quick to note that the president’s prediction of success was not backed up by any plan of action or reason for his optimism. While the president did say that peace would require Palestinian leaders to speak against incitement to violence and hate, for his part Abbas ticked-off the list of preconditions for peace that have not resonated in the last two decades. It was noticeable that unlike the recent visit of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to the White House, no questions were allowed to be asked of President Trump or President Abbas. But while the majority of pundits dismissed the president’s chances of success because he is not embracing the established mantra of Israeli-Palestinian peace making including the so-called “two-state solution,” a minority of observers do not see that as a negative. Instead, they see the “clean slate” – possibly more appropriately described as naivety regarding the realities of the Middle East – in concert with Donald Trump’s drive and determination to close the “mother of all deals” to not allow perceptions and past failures to direct the process away from opportunities.
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