RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) .In Trump’s Sunday speech, which is the centerpiece of his two-day visit to Saudi Arabia, he addressed 50 Muslim and Arab leaders and urged them to «drive out the terrorists from your places of worship.» That’s according to a draft of the speech obtained by The Associated Press.Trump’s presidential campaign was frequently punctuated by bouts of anti-Islamic rhetoric. He is now poised to soften some of his language about the Muslim faith. Though during the campaign Trump repeatedly stressed the need to say the words «radical Islamic terrorism,» that phrase is not included in the draft.
— The Latest on President Donald Trump’s first trip abroad.President Donald Trump and Saudi Arabia’s King Salman are inaugurating a new state-of-the-art center in Riyadh to monitor and combat extremism.
Throw out Extremists
President Donald Trump delivers a speech to the Arab Islamic American Summit, at the King Abdulaziz Conference Center, Sunday, May 21, 2017, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He wants the islamic regimes to trow out the extremist from the Arab countries. Trump and a number of regional leaders visited the new Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology Sunday, the heart of which is a giant wall, filled with screens displaying real-time online extremist activity.More than two hundreds data analysts also worked on their individual computer screens. Trump and the king each placed their hands on a miniature globe that officially activated the center and launched a splashy welcome video.
New American Embassador
The White House did not immediately provide information as to any U.S. Involvement in the creation of the center. The project began two years ago, before Trump took office.The new U.S. ambassador to Israel has attended a celebration of Israel’s capture of east Jerusalem 50 years ago, days after the White House declined to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the area. David Friedman joined a host of hardline Israeli leaders at Sunday’s celebration. Later, he joined Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a bigger celebration in Jerusalem’s Old City. Netanyahu says it was the first time an American ambassador has attended such an event. Israel captured east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war. The area is home to sensitive religious sites, including the Western Wall, the holiest place where Jews can pray.Israel considers the entire city to be its capital. The international community says the fate of east Jerusalem, claimed by the Palestinians, must be resolved through negotiations.
Critisism of Iran
A Syrian rebel commander fighting Syrian and allied troops has praised President Donald Trump’s criticism of Iran, calling it a boost for opponents of the government of President Bashar Assad. In Riyadh, Trump said Assad’s government has committed «unspeakable crimes» bolstered by Iran, blaming Tehran for supporting terrorists and fueling instability in the region. Jamil al-Saleh, the commander of the western-backed Ezzah Army rebel group, called Trump’s position «excellent.» Al-Saleh said Trump appears to be charting a new path, expressing hope it means that he will not tolerate and will respond to Iran’s involvement in Syria, which he said, is an indirect boost to the opposition. Iran is one of the main backers of Assad, advising and sending fighters to Syria against insurgents. Al-Saleh said Trump’s speech was a message to Russia, the other backer of Assad’s government. «He is telling Russia that all your partners in the Syrian theater are the very definition of terrorism.»
Day of Rage
Palestinian activists are calling for a «Day of Rage» when President Donald Trump visits the West Bank on Tuesday. A group calling itself the Supreme National Leadership Committee is calling for public demonstrations across the West Bank. The committee includes various Palestinian political factions, including President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah movement. The demonstrations are meant to draw attention to a month long hunger strike by hundreds of prisoners being held by Israel and to protest what many Palestinians say is unfair U.S. support for Israel. In a statement, the group said Sunday the Palestinian factions «affirm their rejection of the American position, which is biased in favor of the occupation.»n The Hamas militant group has lashed out at President Donald Trump for mentioning it with al-Qaeda and the Islamic State in his speech in Saudi Arabia.
Misrepresentation of Facts
Spokesman Fawzi Barhoum says from Gaza City that Trump’s remarks Sunday are a «misrepresentation of facts.» He dubbed the speech a «confirmation» that Trump is following the policy of previous administrations. Hamas says its battle is against Israel, not the West, and it has tried to rebrand itself by tweaking its charter. But the U.S., along with Israel and others, shun it as a terror group. Hamas targeted civilians in suicide bombings during a Palestinian uprising a decade ago. It has fought three wars with Israel since seizing Gaza from forces of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in 2007. The U.S. recognizes Abbas as the representative of the Palestinians. President Donald Trump called on Middle Eastern leaders to combat a «crisis of Islamic extremism» emanating from the region, casting the fight against terrorism as a «battle between good and evil,» not a clash between the West and Islam.
Trump spoke Sunday during a meeting of more than 50 Arab and Muslim leaders in Saudi Arabia. The speech was the centerpiece of Trump’s two-day visit to the country as part of his first overseas trip. Trump is putting the onus for combatting terrorism on the region and imploring Muslim leaders to aggressively fight extremists.He’ll attend the opening of a Global Center for Combatting Extremist Ideology later Sunday.
Terror of Al Kinds
He spoke of «the crisis of Islamic extremists,» »the Islamists» and «Islamic terror of all kinds.» But President Donald Trump did not use the phrase «radical Islamic terrorism» in a major speech Sunday in front of Muslim leaders.As a candidate, Trump routinely railed against former President Barack Obama and his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton for failing to use the specific phrase, insisting that, «Anyone who cannot name our enemy, is not fit to lead this country.» Trump struck a more moderate tone in his first foreign policy speech, calling on Middle Eastern leaders to combat a «crisis of Islamic extremism» emanating from the region. But he cast the fight against terrorism as a «battle between good and evil,» not a clash between the West and Islam.
Unspeakable Crimes
President Donald Trump says that Syrian President Bashar Assad has committed «unspeakable crimes» bolstered by Iran. In an address to Muslim leaders gathered in Saudi Arabia Sunday, Trump called upon countries around the world to work together to end the humanitarian crisis in Syria. Trump denounced Iranian aggression in the region, and said that the «longest-suffering victims» are the Iranian people. He says the Iranian people have «endured hardship and despair under their leaders’ reckless pursuit of conflict and terror.»President Donald Trump says that every nation must shoulder the burden of rooting our terrorism from their countries.In an address to the leaders of Muslim-majority countries in Riyadh Sunday, Trump said, «Every nation has an absolute duty to ensure that terrorists find no quarter on their soil.»Trump said terrorist groups «do nothing to inspire but kill.»
He said all countries must work together to «honestly» confront «the crisis of Islamic extremists and the Islamists and Islamic terror of all kinds.»Trump fell short of referencing «radical Islamic terrorism» — a term he uses frequently at home and has condemned President Barack Obama for failing to say.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed all his Cabinet ministers to attend the official greeting for President Donald Trump, after some of them planned on skipping the event.
Fight against Terrorism
President Donald Trump will tell Muslim leaders that stamping out terror threats will require «honestly confronting the crisis of Islamist extremism and the Islamist terror groups it inspires.»That’s according to excerpts released by the White House ahead of Trump’s speech Sunday calling for unity across the Muslim world in the fight against terrorism.Trump will tell an audience of leaders of Muslim-majority countries that he is «not here to lecture» and «not here to tell other people how to live, what to do, who to be, or how to worship.»He’ll say that, «This is not a battle between different faiths, different sects, or different civilizations,» but «a battle between good and evil.»
Trump often used anti-Islamic rhetoric during his presidential campaign and repeatedly stressed the need to say the words «radical Islamic terrorism.» That phrase was missing from a draft of the speech obtained by The Associated Press last week
Concern about arms Deal
A senior Israeli Cabinet minister has voiced concern about the U.S.’s $110 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia.
Yuval Steinitz, a confidant of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said Israeli officials will have to «hear the explanations» of the deal when President Donald Trump arrives in Israel on Monday.Steinitz says it is crucial that Israel maintain its military edge over its Arab neighbors, despite warming ties with Sunni Arab countries like Saudi Arabia. Steinitz says, «This is not a country that we have diplomatic relations with» and that it «is still a hostile country and nobody knows what the future holds.»Steinitz says the deal is «definitely something that should trouble us, reports Associated Press before the American Presidents visit in Israle Monday.
