![White House former chief strategist Steve Bannon attends joint press conference by U.S. President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the White House on 17 March, 2017 [Samuel Corum/Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/20170317_2_22473739_19980502.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
Donald Trump’s former Chief Strategist reportedly refused to meet Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas during his visit to Washington in May, Vanity Fair has revealed. Steve Bannon apparently stayed at home during the scheduled visit and texted to a friend that, “I’m not going to breathe the same air as that terrorist.”
Although he was fired last week after a review of his position by White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and has now gone back to his role with far-right media, during his time in office Bannon also lobbied aggressively for Trump to keep his campaign promise and move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Moreover, he is said to have pushed the US President’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner to adopt a tougher stance toward the PA.
Kushner will be arriving in Israel later this week at the head of an American delegation scheduled to meet Israeli and Palestinian officials.
Read: Mahmoud Abbas goes to Washington
![US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on 3 May, 2017 in Washington, DC. [Thaer Ganaim/Apaimages]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/030517_Abbas_Trump-6.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on 3 May, 2017 in Washington, DC. [Thaer Ganaim/Apaimages]