President Donald Trump won’t be joining European allies in amping up pressure on Israel over its intensifying assault on Gaza. But he’s not going to make a big deal over the European efforts either, according to two people familiar with the president’s thinking who were granted anonymity to speak candidly.
Trump, who is in the United Kingdom for a state visit this week, “doesn’t care much” about European efforts to isolate Israel’s government, one of the people said.
Those efforts, which further accentuate the daylight between the White House and European allies on Israel’s war in Gaza and beyond, expanded on Wednesday when EU leaders announced a plan to impose new tariffs on €5.8 billion of Israeli exports to the European Union and sanctions on two key members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
Trump “doesn’t necessarily agree with it,” the person familiar continued. “But he’s also not going to lose sleep over what Europe does, especially when it’s mostly symbolic.”
The additional tariffs can’t be imposed until member countries vote to approve them. And a French official, who previewed Monday’s event on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in which France and at least five other countries will declare their official support for a two-state solution, said that the announcement will “create a pressure” by demonstrating a broad international commitment. But the official acknowledged it may have little effect on getting Netanyahu to end the war.
Despite his frustrations with Netanyahu over last week’s attack targeting Hamas officials in Qatar, Trump isn’t about to join the expanding consensus among democratic world leaders backing Palestinian statehood or trumpeting a new United Nations report concluding that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
A White House official did not dispute the characterization of Trump being nonplussed by Europe’s recent moves. And the official pointed to the president’s comments earlier this summer following announcements from the leaders of France, Great Britain and Canada to officially recognize Palestine that doing so was “rewarding Hamas.” Trump added: “I don’t think they should be rewarded.”
While Europeans look for ways to legitimize Palestinian statehood, the Trump administration has largely backed the Netanyahu government’s stance. The State Department has denied visas for over 80 Palestinian representatives, including Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who hoped to travel to New York City for the United Nations General Assembly next week. The White House said Palestinian officials have undermined Gaza negotiations by appealing to international criminal courts that have accused Israel of war crimes and by seeking UN recognition.
Asked Monday before departing for London about Israel’s latest assault on Gaza, Trump responded with a threat toward Hamas. “I hear Hamas is trying to use the old human shield deal. And if they do, then they’re going to be in big trouble,” Trump said. “They’re going to be in big trouble.”
Other senior administration officials have criticized European allies for embracing Palestinian statehood.
Trump’s ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, said Tuesday in Jerusalem that “European nations going and having this push for a unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state…destroyed negotiations.”
And Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in an interview with Fox News Channel on Sunday, said that the push to recognize a Palestinian state was “largely symbolic.” But he noted the “real-world implications in terms of making it harder to achieve peace.”
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