DAVOS, Switzerland \u2014 President Donald Trump threatened Thursday to withhold aid money from the Palestinians until they return to peace talks with Israel as he sat down with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the sidelines of an economic summit in Switzerland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump\u2019s decision last year to recognize Jerusalem as Israel\u2019s capital roiled Arab nations and led the Palestinians to refuse to meet with Vice President Mike Pence during his visit to the Mideast this week. They also declared a new U.S.-led peace push dead, saying Washington can no longer be trusted as an honest broker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump said that decision has consequences. The U.S., he said, gives \u201chundreds of millions of dollars in aid and support\u201d to the Palestinians, and \u201cthat money is on the table and that money\u2019s not going to them unless they sit down and negotiate peace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Palestinian envoy to Washington, Husam Zomlot, accused the president of \u201cbackstabbing\u201d the Palestinians. In a speech at the Washington-based Middle East Institute, Zomlot said Trump had reneged on his promise not to prejudge solutions to the conflict and chided the president for acting \u201ctriumphant\u201d and \u201cvictorious\u201d in Davos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t understand, triumphant and victorious, what is it? For killing the only possible solution? For pushing us to the Armageddon?\u201d Zomlot said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump\u2019s comments came shortly after he arrived at the World Economic Forum, which brings together world leaders, business executives and celebrities. His appearance is aimed at luring foreign investment to the U.S. and highlighting his \u201cAmerica first\u201d economic agenda, despite its seeming odds with a gathering that celebrates global cooperation and free trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Washington has contributed over $5 billion in economic and security aid to the Palestinians since the mid-1990s. Annual economic aid since 2008 has averaged around $400 million, much of it devoted to development projects. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said all bilateral assistance to the Palestinians, including economic security aide, is at risk if the Palestinians don\u2019t come to the negotiating table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last week, the Trump administration moved to withhold some \u2014 but not all \u2014 of a scheduled aid payment to the United Nations agency that assists Palestinian refugees. The Trump administration said it would provide $60 million, while keeping $65 million until the U.N. body undertakes a \u201cfundamental re-examination.\u201d Nauert said that action is unrelated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Israel has been overjoyed by Trump\u2019s pivot on Jerusalem, which Netanyahu hailed Thursday as an \u201chistoric decision that will be forever etched in the hearts of our people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During his visit to Israel this week, Pence told Israeli lawmakers that the U.S. was fast-tracking the embassy plans, aiming to move it from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem by the end of 2019. Trump said he anticipates having \u201ca small version\u201d of the embassy open sometime next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his remarks, Trump referenced Pence\u2019s trip to the Middle East, which did not include a meeting with Palestinian leaders. Trump said, \u201cthey disrespected us a week ago by not allowing our great vice president to see them,\u201d adding: \u201cRespect has to be shown to the U.S. or we\u2019re just not going any further.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump arrived in Zurich ahead of schedule and immediately boarded a U.S. helicopter for the flight to Davos, where the World Economic Forum is being held. The approximately 40-minute trip took Trump over a snowy countryside dotted with houses, frosted mountains and a glistening lake. As Trump got off the helicopter in Davos, he gestured to aides who held him by the arms as he walked across the snowy landing zone to his waiting car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis will be a very exciting two days,\u201d Trump said as he arrived at the summit site, adding that he was bringing a message of \u201cpeace and prosperity\u201d to the gathering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hours later, he said his visit had already been \u201cvery successful,\u201d telling reporters between meetings that \u201cwe are seeing tremendous investment and today has been a very exciting day, a very great day and great for our country.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the president is expected to declare that the United States is open for business, the protectionist-leaning president\u2019s attendance at the annual gathering for free-trade-loving political and business elites has raised eyebrows. His decision to sign new tariffs boosting American manufacturers this week has prompted fresh concerns about his nationalist tendencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But Trump said there was nothing contradictory about his visit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen I decided to come to Davos, I didn\u2019t think in terms of elitist or globalist, I thought in terms of lots people that want to invest lots of money and they\u2019re all coming back to the United States,\u201d he said in an interview with CNBC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAfter I said that I was going, there were massive stories about \u2018the elite\u2019 and \u2018the globalists\u2019 and the planes flying in and everything else. It\u2019s not about that,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump also seemed eager to dispel concerns about his global leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During a meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May, Trump insisted the U.S.-U.K. relationship isn\u2019t strained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re on the same wavelength in I think every respect,\u201d Trump said, stressing that he and May have a \u201creally great relationship, although some people don\u2019t necessarily believe that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are very much joined at the hip when it comes to the military. We have the same ideas, the same ideals, and there\u2019s nothing that would happen to you that we won\u2019t be there to fight for you,\u201d he told May. \u201cYou know that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump hosted May at the White House days after he took office. But he recently canceled a trip to London to celebrate the opening of the new U.S. Embassy. Trump and May also traded criticism last year over his retweets of a far-right group\u2019s anti-Muslim videos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Britain is eager to strike a free-trade deal with the U.S. after it leaves the EU in 2019. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Thursday that U.S. is ready to negotiate an \u201cattractive\u201d trade deal with Britain once that happens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The president is set to address the forum Friday. He also hosted a dinner with European business leaders and will meet with other world leaders, including Rwandan President Paul Kagame, during his two-day stop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Associated Press writers Jill Colvin, Darlene Superville and Josh Lederman in Washington contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The U.S., he said, gives \u201chundreds of millions of dollars in aid and support\u201d to the Palestinians, and \u201cthat money is on the table and that money\u2019s not going to them unless they sit down and negotiate peace.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":26376,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":68,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[106,31,15,68,33],"tags":[],"coauthors":[4925],"class_list":["post-9474","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-brief","category-home","category-management","category-leadership","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"AZGKOXMEVNDY5IR7HCBUG3M33Q","arc_canonical_url":"\/management\/leadership\/2018\/01\/25\/trump-palestinians-must-return-to-talks-to-receive-aid\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n