Tunisia’s top diplomat exhorts Trump not to abandon Palestinian statehood
In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Foreign Minister Khemaies Jhinaoui urged the president-elect not to give up on Middle East peace.
TUNIS, Tunisia — Tunisia’s top diplomat urged President-elect Donald Trump not to give up on Tunisia’s fledgling democracy and Palestinian aspirations during a wide-ranging interview in his office.
Casting Tunisia as “exactly the anti-model of what the terrorists want,” Khemaies Jhinaoui told Al-Monitor Jan. 12 that he was confident the United States would remain a strong partner under the new administration, despite Trump’s narrow focus on counterterrorism during and since the presidential campaign.
“Of course, we’ve had some contacts with Mr. Trump’s team,” said Jhinaoui, who took office in January 2016. “How things will evolve, all that will depend on the policy he will adopt regarding the region as a whole. But at the bilateral level, I am confident the relationship will only grow stronger.”
He went on to applaud last month’s UN Security Council resolution criticizing Israeli settlements and last week’s Middle East peace conference in Paris. Trump has angrily denounced both developments and has nominated as his ambassador to Israel David Friedman, a hard-line opponent of a two-state solution.
