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Jerusalem (CNN)Only days before President Donald Trump visits Jerusalem, Israeli politicians describe an atmosphere of "nervousness" and "confusion." …
Israelis on edge before Trump visit
Story highlights
- Israeli politicians are unsure what Trump's message will be during the visit
- A changing schedule and shifting locations have made planning difficult
Jerusalem (CNN)Only
days before President Donald Trump visits Jerusalem, Israeli
politicians describe an atmosphere of "nervousness" and "confusion."
One politician put it more bluntly.
"No one has any idea what the plan is."
A changing schedule and shifting locations have made planning for the visit difficult.
Trump
was scheduled to give his keynote address at Masada, a desert fortress
on a mountain. It would've been a dramatic background for a speech, but
the location itself was puzzling. Masada's symbolism is controversial --
the story involves a mass Jewish self-sacrifice some 2000 years ago.
And the ancient palace is a difficult place to reach, lacking the
facilities to easily host a presidential speech with hundreds of
attendees.
The address was then moved to the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, but exact timings have remained in flux.
"These
things are formulated weeks if not months before such a visit, but it
seems that the White House is in such disarray that it's not clear what
will happen," said Eytan Gilboa, the director of the Center of
International Communication at Bar-Ilan University.
Gilboa is referring to more than just the logistics of the visit. Israeli politicians are unsure what Trump's message will be.
Four
politicians from three different political parties, who spoke to CNN on
condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the visit,
expressed the same bewilderment about what may happen when Trump visits
Israel and the West Bank.
An
impulsive President, liable to make spontaneous statements, has only
heightened the sense of anxiety. Trump's stay will last just 26 hours,
but that's more than enough time for a misstated word or offhand comment
to change the entire tenor of the visit.
"Something
will go wrong. That we know, but we don't know what," said one
politician half-jokingly. "A successful visit right now is for it to be
over."
Elaborating on the same
sentiment, Gilboa said, "A successful visit is that nothing serious
happens -- no failures of any kind -- (and) preventing any negative
statements or stumbles."
Because
Trump is visiting Saudi Arabia first, where he will meet with Arab
leaders, including Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Gilboa
explained there is a fear that the initial expectation may be flipped:
instead of using the Arab leaders to pressure the Palestinians to make
concessions, the Arab leaders may use Trump to pressure the Israelis to
make concessions.
The official line
from Israel's government, echoed by the defense minister,
transportation minister, and energy minister, is that relations between
Israel and the United States are stronger than ever, and they will only
get stronger with Trump in the White House.
"We
look forward to receiving President Trump, and we want to work with ...
the President," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday
at a meeting with the new US Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman. "He's
coming here to strengthen our great alliance."
That optimism is not reflected outside the limelight. In private, there is a growing concern about what Trump may say or do.
Initially
hailed as hero by Israel's right wing, Trump campaigned on a promise of
moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and recognizing a
united Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, moves that were certain to
anger the Palestinians and the wider Arab world.
But
upon taking office, Trump walked back his promise to move the embassy
almost immediately, saying it was still under consideration. On
Wednesday evening, less than a week before Trump arrived in Israel,
administration officials confirmed to CNN that the embassy would stay
where it is -- at least for now -- as Trump pursued a peace deal between
Israelis and Palestinians.
"It's
almost certainly going to be a great visit because it's about the
optics," said one politician. "If he goes to the Western Wall with a
kippah -- with Bibi (Netanyahu) or without Bibi -- it's a win."
So why is everyone nervous?
"The
nervousness is that he's going to say 'two-state solution' and that's
going to be a problem for a lot of people in the coalition," the
politician said.
If Trump demands a settlement freeze to pursue peace, it could break up the government, the politician added.
A number of issues and misunderstandings in the days before the visit have only added to the tension.
US
officials, meeting with Israeli officials to arrange Trump's visit,
said the Western Wall was in the West Bank. Stunned, the Israeli Prime
Minister's Office sought clarification from the White House, which said
that the statement made was not official policy.
But
the matter only got more confusing, when White House Press Secretary
Sean Spicer said the Western Wall is in Jerusalem. In stating the
obvious, Spicer failed to clarify the official administration position.
Israel was looking for a definitive statement that the Western Wall is
in Israel.
"The incidents about the Western Wall were very disturbing," said one politician.
In
another incident, Israeli leaders have tried to downplay any fallout
from Trump's alleged revelation of sensitive Israeli information to the
Russians, stressing that the ties between the intelligence communities
will always be strong, without ever commenting on or confirming the
report. Meanwhile, former intelligence officials told CNN that Israel
should consider withholding sensitive information from the United States in order to safeguard it.
In
a reversal of the roles played before the election, it is the
Palestinians who are confident of Trump's visit, while the Israelis
worry.
"While Netanyahu wanted the
Trump presidency to be a crisis for the future of Israel, Palestine, and
the region, and an identical approach to that of the settler agenda,
now we can say that it is not a crisis. It is an opportunity for
Israelis and Palestinians," said Husam Zomlot, the Palestinian
representative to the United States.
"We
are equipped with a peace vision," Zomlot explained. "We have a peace
agenda which is clearly defined, nationally symbolic, regionally
accepted, and globally endorsed."
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