Israel’s Netanyahu pledges to work with Trump on peace efforts

WASHINGTON — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday he was committed to working with US President Donald Trump to advance peace efforts with the Palestinians and with the broader Arab world.

Netanyahu made the pledge in a speech to the largest US pro-Israel lobbying group at a time when the Trump administration is seeking agreement with his right-wing government on limiting settler units construction on land the Palestinians want for a state, part of a US bid to resume long-stalled peace negotiations.

But Netanyahu, speaking via satellite link from occupied Jerusalem, avoided any mention of the delicate discussions, and stopped short of reiterating a commitment to a two-state solution to the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"Israel's hand and my hand is extended to all of our neighbours in peace," Netanyahu told the annual convention of American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC. "Israel is committed to working with President Trump to advance peace with the Palestinians and with all our neighbours."

 But he repeated his demand that the Palestinians recognise Israel as a Jewish state, something they have refused to do.

Netanyahu heaped praise on Trump, who has set a more positive tone with Israel than his Democratic predecessor, Barack Obama, who often clashed with the Israeli leader.

He thanked the new Republican president for a recent US budget request that "leaves military aid to Israel fully funded". He also expressed confidence in a US-Israeli partnership for preventing Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon, following its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, and for "confronting Iran's aggression in the region".