Trump for 2-state solution to resolve Mideast conflict

United Nations, September 26 

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he wanted a two-state solution to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the clearest expression yet of his administration’s support for such an outcome.

The Trump administration has in the past said it would support a two-state solution if both sides agreed to it.

Trump, at a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the United Nations, also said he wanted to unveil a peace plan in the next two to three months.

“I like a two-state solution. That’s what I think works best ... That’s my feeling,” said Trump, who is attending the annual UN gathering of world leaders.

Netanyahu has said that any future Palestinian state must be demilitarised and must recognise Israel as the state of the Jewish people, conditions that Palestinians say show he is not sincere about peacemaking.

The Arab allies of the US are strong proponents of a two-state solution. “I really believe something will happen. They say it’s the toughest of all deals,” Trump said. He added that Israel will have to do something good for the other side without elaborating.

Doubts have mounted over whether Trump’s administration can secure what he has called the “ultimate deal” since December, when the US President recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and then moved the US Embassy there. Jerusalem is one of the major issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Both sides claim it as a capital. — Reuters