President Trump, during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said he’ll release a plan for peace in the Middle East at noon on Tuesday. The indicted prime minister is meeting with Mr. Trump at the White House, followed by a White House visit from Netanyahu’s political challenger, Benny Gantz, in the same day.
It’s unclear if the president has talked about the proposal with the Palestinians, obviously key stakeholders in any agreement with the Israelis. Asked if he’s consulting with them or the Palestinian president, Mr. Trump said he’ll be “reporting on that tomorrow.” The president emphasized that he wants the deal to work, but if it doesn’t, said “life goes on.”
Anticipating that the plan will favor Israel, the Palestinians have already indicated that they will not accept the plan.
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The Israeli meetings come as Mr. Trump’s legal team prepares to defend him in the Senate impeachment trial, facing new allegations from former national security adviser John Bolton. Bolton, according to the New York Times, claims the president said he didn’t want Ukraine aid released under investigations into the Bidens were produced. The president told reporters Monday he has not seen Bolton’s manuscript, but labeled the allegations ” totally false.”
“I haven’t seen the manuscript, but I can tell you nothing was ever said to John Bolton,” the president told reporters Monday.
Mr. Trump had also denied Bolton’s claims on Twitter in a move that some suggested might undermine any future claims of executive privilege the president might make. In Davos, the president said he wanted to see Bolton testify, but had concerns about implications for national security.
“I NEVER told John Bolton that the aid to Ukraine was tied to investigations into Democrats, including the Bidens,” the president tweeted overnight. “In fact, he never complained about this at the time of his very public termination. If John Bolton said this, it was only to sell a book. With that being said, the…transcripts of my calls with President Zelensky are all the proof that is needed, in addition to the fact that President Zelensky & the Foreign Minister of Ukraine said there was no pressure and no problems. Additionally, I met with President Zelensky at the United Nations…”
Netanyahu has been indicted on charges including bribery, fraud and breach of trust in Israel, and he’s also facing his third re-election race in less than a year in March, after the first two proved inconclusive.
