TEL AVIV, Israel �� Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Cabinet debated offering Palestinians economic incentives for reviving peace talks as they waited for U.S. President Donald Trump to arrive and reveal his plans for addressing the Middle East conflict.
Netanyahu opened the meeting Sunday with the message that Israel would welcome Trump "with open arms," while discussions would focus on strengthening security ties and "how to advance peace," according to an emailed statement. Trump is coming to Israel after two days in Saudi Arabia, where he signed multi-billion dollar deals in defense, energy and infrastructure, and urged Muslim leaders to combat terrorism.
The Cabinet discussed whether to offer Palestinians easier travel between the West Bank and Jordan, more job-producing industrial zones, and an increase in the quantity of goods flowing into the Gaza Strip.
Members of Netanyahu's coalition government have expressed concern that entering new peace talks would force Israel to give up territory and curtail construction in West Bank settlements.
"The Trump administration is focused on materially enhancing the quality of life and the economy for the Palestinians," Michael Oren, a parliament member who works as an adviser at the prime minister's office, said in an interview. "They don't see economic peace as a substitute for real peace, but they see it as setting an agenda that would make conditions conducive toward peace."
Palestinians were also preparing for Trump's visit to Bethlehem Tuesday after meeting Netanyahu in Jerusalem. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is scheduled to deliver assurances that his people want peace.
With Trump on the way, Palestinian groups across the political spectrum, including members of Abbas's Fatah party, called for a "Day of Rage" in support of hundreds of prisoners carrying out a hunger strike in Israeli prisons.
Palestinian security officers will be out in force to make sure Trump isn't harmed, Abbas's office said.
Abbas, known by his nickname Abu Mazen, is ready to return to the negotiating table with Israel, largely because the Persian Gulf Arab states that have supported the Palestinians for seven decades are running out of patience, said Mkhaimar Abusada, a political scientist at Al-Azhar University in Gaza City.
"Abu Mazen has realized that the Arab countries are so tired of this issue and more focused on other problems, like the threat from Iran," he said. "They're not willing to wait forever."
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(Fadwa Hodali contributed to this report.)
