U.S. President Donald Trump will host Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas at the White House on May 3, it was announced Wednesday.
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters at a briefing, “They will use the visit to reaffirm the commitment of both the United States and Palestinian leadership to pursuing and ultimately concluding a conflict-ending settlement between the Palestinians and Israel.”
The London-based Arabic language Al Hayat newspaper reported Wednesday that Abbas and his delegation are preparing for a “difficult” visit. The group is allegedly planning to demand an end to all Jewish construction in Judea and Samaria, according to the report.
Meanwhile, according to a report published in the more local Palestinian Authority’s Al-Quds newspaper on Wednesday, the Arab population, at least, expects the Trump administration to “propose” an unconditional return to the negotiating table for the Palestinian Authority, in addition to a withdrawal of its past demands for a complete Jewish construction freeze in post-67 areas.
In return, the proposal continues with the suggestion that no new Jewish communities would be built in Judea and Samaria, and that select moderate Arab states would participate in the peacemaking process, according to the senior Palestinian Authority officials quoted by Al Quds.
Those same sources also warned that the U.S. is expected to demand an immediate end to the stream of fiscal support guaranteed to incarcerated or “martyred” Arab terrorists and their families by the Palestinian Authority government, and the transfer of funds to the Hamas government in Gaza.