President Trump told an Israeli newspaper Thursday that settlements in occupied Palestinian territory “don’t help” the peace process.
“They [settlements] don’t help the process. I can say that,” Trump told Israel Hayom. “There is so much land left. And every time you take land for settlements, there is less land left. But we are looking at that, and we are looking at some other options we’ll see. But no, I am not somebody that believes that going forward with these settlements is a good thing for peace.”
Trump also said he was still thinking about whether to move the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, as he promised to do.
“I am thinking about the embassy, I am studying the embassy [issue], and we will see what happens,” Trump said. “The embassy is not an easy decision. It has obviously been out there for many, many years, and nobody has wanted to make that decision. I’m thinking about it very seriously, and we will see what happens.”
Israel Hayom is the newspaper owned by Las Vegas billionaire Sheldon Adelson. Adelson had dinner with Trump at the White House Thursday evening.
Despite his comments about Israeli settlements, Trump said he doesn’t plan to spend much time during his presidency criticizing Israel, and pointed to his good relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a reason why.
“I don’t want to condemn Israel. Israel has had a long history of condemnation and difficulty. And I don’t want to be condemning Israel,” he said. “I understand Israel very well, and I respect Israel a lot, and they have been through a lot. I would like to see peace and beyond that. And I think that peace for Israel would be a good thing for the Israeli people, not just a good thing, a great thing.”
