While speaking at a rally in West Virginia on August 21, US President Donald Trump promised that Palestinians would "get something very good" in the future peace talks as "it's their turn" since the US had recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Trump pointed out that Jerusalem had been a stumbling block in peace talks between Tel Aviv and Ramallah until he "took it off the table" with US Embassy move in May 2018.
"In past negotiations, they never got past Jerusalem. Now Israel will have to pay a higher price […] The Palestinians will get something very good, because it's their turn next," Trump said.
During talks in January, Trump warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Tel Aviv will have to "give up some other points" in peace talks now that the US has recognized Jerusalem as the country's capital. In May, following the move of the US embassy to Jerusalem, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said that Israel is likely to pay "a price" for Jerusalem's recognition and noted that it's "worth paying it."
READ MORE: Embassy Move ‘Disqualifies' US as Peace Mediator Says Palestine
President Donald Trump's national security adviser John Bolton said on August 22 that "a lot of progress" has been made on the White House's Middle East peace plan, aimed at comprehensively resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. At the same time Bolton refused to provide and approximate date for the plan's publication.
Following the US decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem, Palestinian authorities said Washington had disqualified itself as "an honest mediator in the peace process" and could no longer be part of it.
