Speaking to a heavily pro-Israeli audience at the White House, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump vowed unrelenting support for Israel while urging Palestinians to accept what “may be the last opportunity” to build an independent state. Palestinian representatives said they were not invited to Tuesday’s White House ceremony and not consulted in the plan. Trump said the U.S. would recognize a Palestinian capital in “Eastern Jerusalem,” something the Palestinians have long desired. Then that area would be given to Palestinians as their capital, an idea Palestinian leaders have flatly dismissed. Netanyahu, like Trump, had hoped the announcement of a long-stalled U.S. plan to ease the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would give political boosts to both embattled leaders.

Source: Los Angeles Times January 28, 2020 15:22 UTC