T. Belman. The fact that Trump engineered not only the Arab acceptance of Israel and Jews but also of Christians, makes this Peace Treaty all the more remarkable and historic. The inclusion of Christians is not to be minimized. Historically both Christians and Jews have been discriminated against by Muslims. Trump set out in the spring of 2017 to do the impossible by telling the Arab leaders in Riyadh that they must “defeat terrorism and send its wicked ideology into oblivion”
“Christians have been persecuted by some countries in particular in the Middle East. This [the UAE deal] is a big start, It is going to be a strong start, a very powerful start,” the president said.
By Tovah Lazaroff, JPOST AUGUST 14, 2020
US President Donald Trump speaks about a peace deal reached between Israel and the United Arab Emirates from the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, US, August 13, 2020 (photo credit: REUTERS/KEVIN LAMARQUE)
Protecting Christians in the Middle East is an important part of the nascent peace deal America has brokered between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, US President Donald Trump told reporters in Washington late Thursday as he clarified that West Bank annexation was off the table right now.
“Christians have been persecuted by some countries in particular in the Middle East. This [the UAE deal] is a big start, It is going to be a strong start, a very powerful start” toward protecting Christians in the Middle East, Trump said.
“If you look at the way Christians have been treated in some countries, it is beyond disgraceful. If I had information and if I had absolute proof of some of the stories we have heard, which is not easy to get, I would go in and do a number to those countries, like you would not believe,” Trump said.
As a result protecting Christians in the Middle East would also be a component of future deals that would be signed between Israel and other countries in the region, he clarified.
Christianity “is a very big part of the overall negotiation. As countries come in, the UAE has agreed very strongly to represent us, I think will, very well, with respect to Christianity, because in the Middle East it is not treated well. It is treated horribly and very unfairly,” Trump said. The president also attempted to clarify some of the confusion with regard to any Israeli plans to annex portions of the West Bank.
In January the US has unveiled a peace plan that would have allowed Israel to annex up to 30% of the West Bank, but then the Trump administration asked Israel to wait before executing that plan.
On Thursday in Jerusalem, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the as a result of the deal, annexation had been delayed but would move forward.
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