President Trump said he backs a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, in a shift from his previous stance, and promised to present his long-awaited peace plan in the next four months.
Mr. Trump, speaking ahead of a meeting with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, previously has said he would back either one or two states, whichever the two sides decided between themselves.
On Wednesday, he changed tack. His support for the concept, which has undergirded efforts of American administrations for decades, is the most concrete detail available about his administration’s peace plan.
“I like two-state solution,” Mr. Trump told reporters Wednesday alongside Mr. Netanyahu. “That’s what I think works best.” He turned to the Israeli leader and added, “You may have a different feeling. I don’t think so.”
Mr. Trump said he expects to have something in the next “two to three to four months,” adding, “I really believe something will happen. It is a dream of mine to be able to get that done prior to the end of my first term.”
Mr. Trump’s comments forced Mr. Netanyahu to be more specific about his own stance on two states. After endorsing two states in 2009, he has since tried to keep his stance vague.
Mr. Netanyahu said in a briefing with reporters he would back a Palestinian state, but that it must be under Israeli security control. “I am willing for the Palestinians to have the authority to rule themselves without the authority to harm us,” Mr. Netanyahu said, adding, “I am sure that any U.S. peace plan will reflect that principle to a great extent, maybe even entirely.”
Palestinian leaders say the Trump administration isn’t an honest peace mediator, saying it’s biased toward Israel. They have refused contact with the Trump administration since December, when Mr. Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and announced the U.S. would move its embassy there, a city which the Palestinians claim as their own future capital.
Since then the U.S. has taken a series of punitive measures aimed at pressuring the Palestinians to return to discussions, including slashing $250 million in bilateral assistance, cutting off aid to the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency and closing the Palestine Liberation Organization’s office in Washington.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday cited those actions and rejected the U.S. as a mediator to the conflict. “It has become important to convene an international peace conference that would lead to the formation of an international mechanism to sponsor the peace process,” he said, according to the Palestinian official news agency.
Mr. Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner, chief negotiator Jason Greenblatt and U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman have been formulating a plan for more than a year. But they haven’t revealed any details.
American officials said the plan is near completion, and includes political and economic components. One important consideration on when to present the plan will be the timing of Israeli elections, which are expected at some point in the next year.
Naftali Bennett, a frequent challenger of Mr. Netanyahu’s to his right and the education minister, criticized Mr. Trump’s backing of two states, saying that as long as his Jewish Home party is part of Mr. Netanyahu’s coalition, “there will not be a Palestinian state, which would be a disaster for Israel.”
The comments come a day ahead of what are expected to be dueling speeches at the U.N. from Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Abbas, who will speak first.
An Israeli official said Mr. Netanyahu had requested a meeting with Mr. Abbas on the sidelines of the U.N., but the Palestinians declined to meet. A U.S. official said that the Palestinians also didn’t accept requests from the Trump administration to meet on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.
Still, Mr. Trump said Wednesday that he believed that Palestinians will eventually talk to the U.S. about its peace plan.
“They want to come back to the table,” he said.
