WASHINGTON — Donald Trump told Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority president, that it was “so nice” to get his good wishes after Trump survived an assassination attempt, a notably friendly gesture ahead of a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has long worked to marginalize Abbas.
“It is with grave concern that I have received news and later on watched footage of your attempted assassination,” Abbas wrote Trump on official letterhead in a letter dated July 14, one day after the shooting. “”Acts of violence must not have a place in a world of law and order.”
“Mahmoud — so nice — thank you — everything will be good,” Trump wrote in marker on Abbas’ letter, which Trump posted Tuesday evening on social media. “Best wishes, Donald Trump.”
The correspondence was notable because relations between Abbas and Trump soured after Trump, as president, recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, which Abbas took as an affront because Palestinians consider east Jerusalem their capital. They deteriorated further after Trump endorsed a peace plan that retained Israeli control over large swaths of the West Bank.
Netanyahu and his allies in the Trump administration also worked to persuade Trump to cut off the Palestinian Authority, saying it was malign and ineffective. Posting the letter on social media could be seen as a signal that Trump’s stance has shifted — a fear among traditional pro-Israel Republicans who otherwise are completely on board in helping him return to office.
Trump’s post noted his meeting Friday with Netanyahu, set to take place in Mar-a-Lago. “Looking forward to seeing Bibi Netanyahu on Friday, and even more forward to achieving Peace in the Middle East!” it said, and signed off with his initials, “DJT.”
Netanyahu spoke Wednesday to Congress and effusively praised both Biden and Trump. His government has in recent months stepped up its efforts to isolate the Palestinian Authority, rejecting efforts by the Biden administration to have the authority assume some level of control of the Gaza Strip once Israel’s war with Hamas ends in the enclave.
