Could an October Surprise Shift the Deadlocked Trump-Harris Race?

[webfact]

Trump invites Netanyahu to Washington for visit - White House

By Ayesha Rascoe and Matt Spetalnick

REUTERS

 

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the lobby of Trump Tower in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., January 11, 2017 and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem January 22, 2017 in a combination of file photos. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/Ronen Zvulun/File Photo

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visit Washington in early February during a phone call in which they discussed the importance of strengthening the U.S.-Israeli relationship, the White House said on Sunday.

 

In his first call with Netanyahu since taking office on Friday, Trump stressed his "unprecedented commitment to Israel's security."

 

"The president and the prime minister agreed to continue to closely consult on a range of regional issues, including addressing the threats posed by Iran," the White House said in a statement.

 

Trump also said peace between Israel and the Palestinians could only be negotiated between the two parties, but that the United States would work with Israel to achieve that goal.

 

Relations between Israel and the Obama administration ended on a contentious note, when the United States declined to veto a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for a halt to Israeli settlement-building.

 

The readout from the White House did not include any mention of moving the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, an action that would likely spark anger in the Arab world.

 

Earlier on Sunday, the White House said it was only in the early stages of talks to fulfill Trump's campaign pledge to relocate the embassy.

 

"We are at the very beginning stages of even discussing this subject," White House spokesman Sean Spicer said in a statement. Aides said no announcement of an embassy move was imminent.

 

Washington's embassy is in Tel Aviv, as are most foreign diplomatic posts. Israel calls Jerusalem its eternal capital, but Palestinians also lay claim to the city as part of an eventual Palestinian state. Both sides cite biblical, historical and political claims.

 

Any decision to break with the status quo is likely to prompt protests from U.S. allies in the Middle East such as Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt. Washington relies on those countries for help in fighting the Islamic State militant group, which the new U.S. president has said is a priority.

 

The U.S. Congress passed a law in 1995 describing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and saying it should not be divided, but successive Republican and Democratic presidents have used their foreign policy powers to maintain the embassy in Tel Aviv and to back negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians on the status of Jerusalem.

 

In early December, then-President Barack Obama renewed the presidential waiver on an embassy move until the beginning of June. It is unclear whether Trump would be able to legally override it and go ahead with relocation of the embassy.

 

U.S. diplomats say that, despite the U.S. legislation, Washington's foreign policy is in practice broadly aligned with that of the United Nations and other major powers, which do not view Jerusalem as Israel's capital and do not recognize Israel's annexation of Arab East Jerusalem after its capture in the 1967 Middle East war.

 

Israel approved building permits on Sunday for hundreds of homes in three East Jerusalem settlements in expectation that Trump will row back on the previous administration's criticism of such projects.

 

(Reporting by Ayesha Rascoe, Warren Strobel and Matt Spetalnick; Editing by Howard Goller and Paul Simao)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-01-23

[pegman]

Typical of the Americans to try to stir up trouble. I suppose they miss the 1970's when the Palestinians were hitting back. I could care less if the Arabs, Israelis and Americans  take each other out but if expats are going to be targeted the Thais should take action to protect those of us who could be mistakenly hit. Maybe have wrist bands with the Stars and Stripes to identify the belligerents. 

[uptheos]

1 hour ago, pegman said:

Typical of the Americans to try to stir up trouble. I suppose they miss the 1970's when the Palestinians were hitting back. I could care less if the Arabs, Israelis and Americans  take each other out but if expats are going to be targeted the Thais should take action to protect those of us who could be mistakenly hit. Maybe have wrist bands with the Stars and Stripes to identify the belligerents. 

 What's it have to do with the Thai's?

[Suradit69]

6 hours ago, pegman said:

Typical of the Americans to try to stir up trouble. I suppose they miss the 1970's when the Palestinians were hitting back. I could care less if the Arabs, Israelis and Americans  take each other out but if expats are going to be targeted the Thais should take action to protect those of us who could be mistakenly hit. Maybe have wrist bands with the Stars and Stripes to identify the belligerents. 

 

Wow. It's too cloudy here to see. Is there a full moon tonight?

[Jingthing]

I support a close USA - Israel relationship regardless of the leadership of the two nations but this idea to move the USA embassy to Jerusalem is simply not worth the price. trump presented himself  as someone doing good deals for the USA. I don't see the USA interest in it and what does it really get Israel? More people motivated to murder Jews? 

 

I suggest trump back out of this proposal and just do a reasonable compromise change to allow U.S. citizens born in Jerusalem to put ISRAEL as their place of birth on their passports. 

Edited January 23, 2017 by Jingthing

[retarius]

One is tempted to say that these two deserve each other. But that would be praising them. Trump's policy of supporting Israel is deplorable. Cut the aid to Israel and start making and implementing UN resolutions to force them to stop stealing Palestinian land and building illegal settlements. Recognize Palestinian statehood.

[uptheos]

Israeli authorities on Sunday approved building permits for 566 settler homes in east Jerusalem, plans that had been postponed until US President Donald Trump took office, the city's Deputy Mayor said.

 

The move came not long before a phone call between Netanyahu and Trump, after which it was confirmed that the two would be meeting in Washington next month.

 

In tweets posted via the Israeli PMs official Twitter profiles, Netanyahu said: “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to [US President] Donald Trump this evening, in what was a very warm conversation.

- See more at: http://www.sigmalive.com/en/news/international/151977/israel-approves-566-settler-homes-as-trump-takes-office#.dpuf

[uptheos]

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met with Jordanian King Abdullah II on Sunday to discuss potential steps to be taken should newly instated US President Donald Trump carry out his plan to move the American embassy to Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

In a statement released after the meeting, Abbas said that the two leaders had discussed the consequences and procedures to be undertaken in case Trump followed through with his campaign promise, adding that the issue of the embassy was very important to both Palestine and Jordan, especially given Jordan’s role in administering holy Muslim sites in occupied East Jerusalem. 

http://www.albawaba.com/news/abbas-and-king-abdullah-meet-discuss-possible-us-embassy-move-jerusalem-928632

[Srikcir]

3 hours ago, Jingthing said:

do a reasonable compromise change to allow U.S. citizens born in Jerusalem to put ISRAEL as their place of birth on their passports. 

I don't see that any compromise is required.

There was a law passed in Congress in 2002 ordering the State Department to offer citizens the option to record Israel as the place of birth for American children, rather than Jerusalem - signed by President George W. Bush 

 

" the president has the exclusive power to recognize foreign nations, and that the power to determine what a passport says is part of this power." - majority opinion by Justice Anthony Kennedy. Zivotofsky v. Clinton, 566 U.S. ___ (2012)

 http://www.timesofisrael.com/a-us-supreme-court-passport-battle-courtesy-of-a-lifelong-friendship/

 

Previous presidents have refused to allow Israel to be on passports based on their presidential authority.

Trump could simply issue an order to allow Israel designation during his term in office.

 

[Jingthing]

Yes he could and he probably will, which is fine with me. But the point is that's a change and he doesn't need to go overboard and move the embassy to Jerusalem. I'm not convinced even most Israelis want that when they consider the trouble it will cause.