Trump threatens to cut Palestinian funds over ‘disrespect’

Donald Trump has threatened Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas with cutting off millions of dollars in US aid.

Donald Trump’s security vanguard approaches Zurich ahead of the arrival of the US President for the World Economic Forum in Davos. Picture: Reuters

Donald Trump has challenged Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to start talking about peace or risk losing hundreds of millions of dollars in US aid.

In a dramatic first day at the Davos summit, Mr Trump met­ ­Israeli leader Benjamin Netan­yahu and questioned why the US should continue giving aid to the Palestinians if they were not willing to participate in peace talks.

His comments came after the Palestinians refused to meet Vice-President Mike Pence when he visited Israel last week in protest at the US decision to recognise the disputed city of Jerusalem as ­Israel’s capital.

“When they disrespected us a week ago by not allowing our great Vice-President to see them and we give them hundreds of millions of dollars in aid and support, tremendous numbers, numbers that ­nobody understands,” Mr Trump said.

“That money is on the table. That money is not going to them unless they sit down and negotiate peace.”

Mr Trump further angered Mr Abbas by claiming to Mr Netan­yahu that the issue of Jerusalem was “off the table” in negotiations with the Palestinians. “You could never get past Jerusalem; we got it off the table,” Mr Trump said.

Donald Trump arrives at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Picture: AFP

The comment appeared to contradict the official US position that its recognition of Jerusalem as ­Israel’s capital made no assumptions about the final status of the city which is claimed by both Israel and the Palestinians.

Mr Abbas fired back at Mr Trump’s comments, saying that if the status of Jerusalem was “off the table” then Palestinians would not accept a US role in the peace process.

“If Jerusalem is off the table, then America is off the table as well,” Abbas spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said.

Palestinians have refused to participate in peace negotiations since December when the US recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and confirmed that it would move the US embassy to the city from Tel Aviv.

Palestinians claim Jerusalem as their capital, as does Israel.

Despite the growing rift in US Palestinian relations, Washington says it intends to draft a peace proposal later this year to try to achieve what Mr Trump calls the “ultimate” Middle East peace agreement.

Hours after Mr Trump’s comments, the US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, launched a scathing attack on Mr Abbas in the UN saying he “lacked the courage and the will to seek peace”.

She said a speech given by Mr Abbas two weeks ago had insulted the President and shown that the Palestinian leader did not have what it took to make peace.

“In his speech, President Abbas declared the landmark Oslo peace accords dead,” Ms Haley said.

“He rejected any American role in peace talks. He insulted the American President. He called for suspending recognition of Israel. He invoked an ugly and fictional past, reaching back to the 17th century, to paint Israel as a colonialist project engineered by European ­powers.

“A speech that indulges in outrageous and discredited conspir­acy theories is not the speech of a person with the courage and the will to seek peace,” she said.

The State Department announced earlier this month that it would withhold $US65 million ($80m) in funding to the UN ­Relief and Works Agency, the ­organisation charged with assisting Palestinian refugees.

In his meeting with Mr Trump in Davos, Mr Netanyahu praised the President for pursuing closer ties with Israel; ties that have drifted under Mr Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama. “I’ve never seen the realistic ­alliance between the United States, Israel and your other allies in the region as strong, as unified as it is under your leadership,” Mr Netanyahu said.

Cameron Stewart is also US Contributor for Sky News Australia