Donald Trump’s ‘ultimate deal’ put on the backburner

Bethlehem: A day after US President Donald Trump arrived in Israel, riding high on talk of bringing peace and stability to the West Asia, analysts say that consolidating US interests and rallying allies in the region around the common threat posed by Iran took overwhelming precedence over reviving the deadlocked Israel-Palestinian peace.

The much-publicised “ultimate deal” between Israel and Palestinians that Mr Trump craves for was, in fact, put on the backburner for most part of his first foreign trip. With the issue just getting brief mention in speeches by leaders, the attention firmly remained on Iran and the dangers it poses to US’ allies in the region, providing them with enough reason to forget about their differences and work towards the common goal of denying Tehran the nuclear bomb.

In his stopover lasting just 28 hours, Mr Trump met separately with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. And after weeks of flashing his trademark bravado by saying the “ultimate deal” could be easier than “people have thought,” he too seemed to acknowledge the complexities that have bedevilled his predecessors.

“Making peace however will not be easy,” he told an audience of Israeli politicians and other dignitaries at the Israel Museum. The visit has been full of grand gestures but bereft of any tangible clues as to how Mr Trump is even going to begin pursuing the “ultimate deal”.