Trump is good at making bold promises. Last week it was a promise to end the war in Ukraine and to “bring peace to the world.” This week it was to achieve peace in the Middle East. On Truth Social today Trump posted a letter from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, sent on July 14, wishing him well after his assassination attempt. Trump wrote with a sharpie on the letter, “Mahmoud - so nice.” He also stated in the text of the post “Looking forward to seeing [Israeli Prime Minister] Bibi Netanyahu on Friday, and even more forward to achieving Peace in the Middle East!” The letter breaks a long silence between the Palestinian leader and Trump after the two fell out in December 2017 when Trump moved the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and recognized the city as the capital of the country. Despite frosty relations Trump told Axios reporter Barak Ravid in 2021 that Abbas was more interested in achieving peace than Netanyahu.
