Netanyahu-Trump love affair begins with anti-Palestinian measures, February meeting

The much expected honeymoon between the US president Donald Trump and fellow right-wing leader, Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, officially started on Sunday with a raft of 'anti-Palestinian' signals by both sides.

The inauguration of a new chapter of what many experts fear is closer than ever US-Israeli relations on Sunday culminated with a phone conversation between the two men, during which they agreed a rendez-vous in February in Washington.

The conversation, described by Netanyahu in a statement as 'very warm', discussed "the nuclear deal with Iran (which Israel wants repealed), the peace process with the Palestinians and other issues". A date for the meeting would be set in the coming days, the statement said.

Israel's right-wing government sees Trump as the most pro-Israeli US president yet, one who has much fewer qualms about its aggressive settlement of the West Bank and Jerusalem, and one who has less interest in the two-state solution compared to his predecessors.

Israel is already wasting no time. Less than 24 hours after Trump's inauguration, it moved to approve hundreds of new settlements in occupied Palestinian territories.

However on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu delayed a vote on an explosive proposal to annex one of the West Bank’s largest settlements, yet perhaps only to coordinate his policy toward the Palestinians with the new administration of President Donald Trump.

The move put on hold legislation that threatens to unleash fresh violence and damage already faded hopes for Palestinian independence. It also may mark Trump’s first foray into Middle East diplomacy.

After eight years of frosty relations with President Barack Obama, Netanyahu has welcomed Trump’s election as an opportunity to strengthen ties between two allied nations.

With Trump signaling a more tolerant approach toward the much-maligned settlement movement, Israel’s nationalist right now believes it has an ally in the White House

Pro-settlement Trump

With Trump signaling a more tolerant approach toward the much-maligned settlement movement, Israel’s nationalist right now believes it has an ally in the White House, and Israeli hard-line leaders make no secret they will push for aggressive action in the occupied West Bank.

Education Minister Naftali Bennett, leader of the pro-settlement Jewish Home Party, has been pushing Netanyahu to abandon the internationally backed idea of a Palestinian state and to annex the Maaleh Adumim settlement near Jerusalem.

But after convening his Security Cabinet on Sunday, Netanyahu said his Cabinet ministers, including Bennett, had decided “unanimously” to delay action until he goes to Washington to meet with Trump. Netanyahu’s office said the Cabinet would hold further discussions ahead of the meeting, which is expected in early February.

Earlier Sunday, Netanyahu thanked Trump for his friendship and his inaugural speech pledge to battle radical Islamic militants. Netanyahu had said they would discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the situation in Syria and the Iranian threat, among other issues.

Netanyahu, a longtime supporter of the settlements, has nonetheless been cautious about expanding them in the face of strong opposition from the international community. In a final showdown with Israel last month, the Obama administration allowed the UN Security Council to pass a resolution condemning settlements as illegal.

“If they are serious about making it part of Israel and closing it down, then it is actually cutting the West Bank into two,” said Hagit Ofran of the anti-settlement group Peace Now.

Trump also has already said he supports one of Israel’s key demands — moving the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem

Embassy politics

Trump, however, faces heavy pressure from the Palestinians and Arab countries against moving the embassy. The fate of east Jerusalem, home to the city’s most sensitive religious sites, is deeply emotional, and disagreements have boiled over into violence in the past.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has sent a series of messages to Trump urging him not to move the embassy and warning that he would revoke recognition of Israel if the move takes place.