Mideast ‘breakthrough’ a long-sought win for deal-maker Trump
When President Donald Trump unveiled his long-awaited Middle East peace plan in January, a major difference between the new effort and decades of dashed U.S. initiatives was the role the Trump administration envisioned for Arab-Israeli relations.
The Trump plan turned the traditional U.S. approach on its head: Instead of enticing Israel to reach a deal with the Palestinians by promising that peace with Arab countries would be Israel’s reward, Mr. Trump’s plan called for placing the priority on reaching normalized relations between Israel and the Arabs as a way of pressuring the Palestinians to strike a deal with Israel.
That new approach logged its first win Thursday with President Trump’s announcement from the Oval Office that Israel and the United Arab Emirates have agreed to start a process toward normalization of relations.
Political benefit?Jared Kushner’s roleSome had doubted approach
