In a post on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday, former US President Donald Trump shared a letter he received from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, in which he condemned the assassination attempt on the president, saying that “acts of violence have no place in a world of law and order.” Abbas referred to the assassination carried out by the young American, Matthew Crooks, on July 13, and offered his condolences to the family of the firefighter who was killed in the attempt, and wished a speedy recovery to those injured.

Former President Trump responded to Abbas's letter with a handwritten note that read: "Mahmoud, very nice. Thank you. Everything will be fine. Best wishes. Donald Trump."

In his post displaying the letter, Trump said he looked forward to meeting Netanyahu on Friday (7/26/2024) and was even more looking forward to achieving peace in the Middle East.

According to some experts, Palestinian President Abbas’s message is an attempt to reset relations between him and Trump, which were severely damaged in 2017 after the former president’s administration formally recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and moved its embassy there. Earlier in 2017, Trump hosted Abbas at the White House and the former president spoke of brokering “the most important peace deal” between the Palestinians and Israelis.

However, after recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, Abbas criticized Washington for “abandoning its role as a peace broker” and cutting off contact with the Trump administration on key issues. Despite this, Trump praised Abbas in a 2021 interview with Axios, saying, “I thought he was great… He was almost like a father. He couldn’t have been nicer. I thought he wanted to make a deal more than Netanyahu.” In the same interview, Trump was much less charitable in describing Netanyahu, saying, “I don’t think Bibi wanted to make peace at all.”

It is noteworthy first that Trump published Abbas’s letter on Tuesday (July 23), although he had received it on July 14, 2024. Trump wrote on his social network “Truth Social” that he “will work for peace in the Middle East,” and that his timing of publishing Abbas’ letter came just before Netanyahu’s speech to Congress on Wednesday, and before his meeting with Netanyahu next Friday.

Abbas's relationship with Trump was almost severed after Trump announced during his presidency in 2017 that he recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and moved the US embassy there on December 6, 2017. He also announced that the occupied Syrian Golan Heights are part of Israel. The Trump administration officially decided in 2019 that Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank do not conflict with international laws, according to the Trump administration's vision. Trump also announced the "Deal of the Century" at the end of December 2020, which he spent the three years of his presidency promoting, and which will be the starting point for his work for peace, as stated in his response to Abbas's letter.

The "Deal of the Century" is considered a deal to liquidate the Palestinian cause, as it legalizes settlements and gives Israel more than 30% of the occupied West Bank.