US ambassador to Israel believes peace deal is unlikely

The US ambassador to Israel has warned President Donald Trump that a peace deal between Israel and Palestine is highly unlikely. David Friedman, a long-time Trump confidant and former Trump attorney, was reported by the Israeli newspaper, Arutz Sheva, of warning the president that the chances of brokering a comprehensive deal between Israel and the PA are exceedingly slim.

President Trump has expressed his “personal commitment” to help reach a final status agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, but senior advisors are said to be less than optimistic that such a deal can be brokered and have made their scepticism clear to the president, Israeli sources reported.

Friedman was quoted as saying: “People whose opinion he [Trump] respects told him it will be very hard, perhaps even impossible, but so far, he hasn’t changed his mind.”

While Trump’s advisors have instructed him not to have high expectation in securing the “ultimate deal”, Haaretz reported that Friedman stressed the need for Israeli officials to cooperate with his diplomatic initiative during his visit to Israel next week.

Friedman is thought to have told Israeli officials that Trump presented a great opportunity for the country and he is said to have also mentioned that the appointments made by the president to deal with the Israel issue were “graduates of Jewish religious schools”.

Friedman’s advice to his Israeli interlocutors was to refrain from getting into confrontations with the president and to help him implement his Middle Eastern policies.