Why is Trump Legitimizing Abbas?

Yesterday, President Trump invited Mahmoud Abbas to the White House to meet with him.

The reason is quite obvious. Trump wants to broker a Middle East peace deal between Israel and the Palestinian Authority and be written into the history books.

But why does Trump (or for that matter any other democratically elected leader) confer legitimacy upon Abbas? In January 2005, Abbas was elected Palestinian Authority President. His term expired in January 2009. In other words, his four year term expired eight years ago. Yet he remains Palestinian Authority President.

No doubt because the State Department believes the alternative would be worse. But what makes anyone think Abbas wants peace with Israel? Less than six months ago, Abbas was demanding an apology from Britain for the Balfour Declaration which commemorates its 100th anniversary this year. The Balfour Declaration, of course, recognized the establishment of a Jewish state in the Middle East. Abbas called it "the crime of the century."

If Abbas can't accept the idea of a Jewish state what makes President Trump think he can make Abbas accept its reality?