Ghaith al-Omari is the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation Senior Fellow in The Washington Institute's Irwin Levy Family Program on the U.S.-Israel Strategic Relationship.
Articles & Testimony
The president's move will likely spur Abbas to take a harder line on key peace issues for the foreseeable future.
Earlier today, President Trump announced that the United States would recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and eventually move the American embassy there, breaking with nearly 70 years of U.S. policy. The announcement has put Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in a tough position. Abbas was already walking a political tightrope: he is in the middle of a delicate reconciliation process with his rivals in Hamas, and he faces a public deeply skeptical of his leadership and of the U.S. role in the peace process. To appease ordinary Palestinians and fend off attacks from his competitors, he responded harshly to Trump's announcement, and he will soon take a harder line toward the peace process and a softer line toward Hamas than he otherwise would have...
