Say It Ain’t So

In a very concerning article found in The Jerusalem Post which cites a report found in The Media Line which states that some are saying that US President Donald Trump will actually support a two state solution. But first we get the basic details of Trump’s visit to the Middle East:

Saudi Arabia will host a Gulf-US summit in mid-May, part of US President Donald Trump's first visit to Saudi Arabia during his second term. This follows the summit held on May 21, 2017, during Trump's first term.

Trump hinted there would be an important announcement made while he’s in the region:

The summit, hosted by Saudi Arabia in its capital, Riyadh, was preceded by numerous predictions regarding the announcement that Trump referred to, describing it as a "very important announcement" during a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the White House on Tuesday, May 6.

Apart from the tease, the meeting is meant to seal deals that have been in the making for some time since the US president took office:

In addition to what Trump intends to announce, the summit's agenda and the deals and agreements expected to take place have become the talk of the town, ranging from security and military deals to technology deals and artificial intelligence deals.

All the leaders will be there with only one exception:

All Gulf leaders are scheduled to participate in the Gulf-US summit, with the exception of King Salman bin Abdulaziz, who has not participated in public events or meetings for a long time due to his health conditions.

King Salman bin Abdulaziz is from Saudi Arabia. But there are rumors that, if true would be a huge bombshell for Israel and Prime Minister Netanyahu:

A Gulf diplomatic source, who declined to be named or disclose his position, told The Media Line, "President Donald Trump will issue a declaration regarding the State of Palestine and American recognition of it, and that there will be the establishment of a Palestinian state without the presence of Hamas."

Of course the source is very secretive which diminishes their credibility in my thinking. If true it would overshadow all the other agenda items and deals made:

The source also added, "If an announcement of American recognition of the State of Palestine is made, it will be the most important declaration that will change the balance of power in the Middle East, and more countries will join the Abraham Accords."

But the logic could be more obvious at least to them – money:

The source confirmed that economic agreements will certainly be present, but many of them have already been announced, and we may witness the Gulf states being exempted from tariffs.

Some Aren’t Buying It

In an article from i24news.tv the US Ambassador to Israel tells us that if the notion of Trump pushing a two state solution seems out of character, it probably is:

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Saturday dismissed as nonsensical the report that President Donald Trump would endorse Palestinian statehood during his tour to the Persian Gulf this week.

On Huckabee’s X profile he explained his views this way:

Hmm. @Jerusalem_Post needs better sources than this unidentified “source.” My 4 yr old grandson Teddy is more reliable. And take it from Teddy. This report is nonsense. @Israel

doesn’t have a better friend than @POTUS!

Going back to the Post article, one diplomat in the region also doubts Trump would even bring up Gaza simply by looking at who isn’t invited:

Ahmed Al-Ibrahim, a former Gulf diplomat, told The Media Line, "I don't expect it to be about Palestine. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and King Abdullah II of Jordan have not been invited. They are the two countries closest to Palestine, and it would be important for them to be present at any event like this."

He also noted that the main order of business deal making, a strong suit of Trump:

Al-Ibrahim also said, "There will be major deals coming, perhaps similar to what happened at the 2017 Gulf-US summit, with Saudi deals worth more than $400 billion. Let's not forget that the UAE announced investments in the US worth more than $1 trillion, and Saudi Arabia announced investments worth more than $600 billion."

He continued, "This is clear because President Donald Trump intends to visit the UAE and Qatar after concluding his visit to Saudi Arabia. These are two important economies with significant financial resources and major investments in the United States."

A Middle East analyst also sees this presidential visit as purely economic:

Ahmed Boushouki, a Saudi political analyst, told The Media Line, "This is about major economic deals that will take place in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Perhaps US President Donald Trump hinted at this when he told the American people to 'buy stocks now, before his big announcement in the next two days.'"

He brings up another nuclear deal, but this one is meant to build a peaceful program and not a military one like the one in Iran:

Regarding the news of a peaceful US-Saudi nuclear cooperation to generate electricity in Saudi Arabia, Boushouki said, "Saudi Arabia has had a program announced since 2010, and it has been discussed several times before. International companies are now working to implement these projects in Saudi Arabia."

Plans are currently underway in Saudi Arabia to build the kingdom's first nuclear reactor, with several international companies competing to design and build the reactor. Meanwhile, the neighboring Gulf country, the United Arab Emirates, already owns the Barakah reactor and is the only Arab country with a four-reactor nuclear power plant, in collaboration with a Korean company.

However, having nuclear ability in the region could also be a way of having options if Iran gets nuclear weapons. Rather than political fireworks we’re going to get financial ones. Don’t buy the anonymous teasing by the Post.