clear

Creating new perspectives since 2009

Yair Lapid claims Abu Dis is Palestine capital under Trump ‘deal’

May 23, 2018 at 9:03 am

The head of Israel’s opposition party, Yair Lapid (C) speaks to the press with his supporters surrounding him on 12 October 2015 [Stringer/Apaimages]

The Palestinian town of Abu Dis will be the capital of a Palestinian state under US President Donald Trump’s peace deal, according to Israeli opposition politician Yair Lapid.

Lapid made the remarks at a meeting of his Yesh Atid faction, reported the Jerusalem Post.

“Over the weekend, different sources began saying that in the American paper that will be presented next month, Abu Dis will be mentioned as the capital of Palestine,” Lapid said Monday.

“This brings up two questions,” he continued, “one, is the two-state solution back on the table with the prime minister’s agreement? Two, is Abu Dis acceptable to Netanyahu as the future Palestinian capital?”

“I know that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doesn’t give interviews, but there’s a limit to his vagueness. If it’s true, the Israeli public needs to know,” Lapid continued.

Israel’s premature celebration: Gazans have crossed the fear barrier

An unnamed National Security Council official told the Jerusalem Post: “Anyone who claims to know the terms of the Trump administration’s peace proposal is mistaken,” adding: “We will not provide details or comment further on specific terms until we make the proposal public.”

Netanyahu did not comment directly on the matter, but told his Likud faction meeting: “Our successes are still to come. Our policies are not based on weakness. They are not based on concessions that will endanger us.”