Professor Alan Dershowitz
Professor Alan DershowitzGideon Markowicz/Flash90

An interview published this morning on Army Radio gives further insight into attorney Alan Dershowitz’s impressions of US President Donald Trump’s views on Middle East peace - in light of the recent conversation he held with Trump on the matter.

On Wednesday, Haaretz reported that Dershowitz recently met Trump by chance at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in southern Florida, where the two proceeded to talk for twenty minutes.

Speaking to Army Radio, Dershowitz said that, based on the conversation, he was “pleasantly surprised by [Trump’s] knowledge of the Middle East.”

“He mentioned each of the issues that would have to be addressed in any kind of peace agreement: Jerusalem, security on the West Bank [sic], demilitarization, the right of return. He was anxious to convey the message that he really wanted to have a peace agreement.”

Asked whether he thought Trump still held by the view he had expressed during his joint press briefing with Prime Minister Netanyahu in Washington - that he would not pressure Israel for a “two-state solution” but would be “very happy with the [solution to conflict] that both [Israel and the Palestinians] like -” Dershowitz said that Trump “clearly” betrayed a vision of two states during their conversation.

“I said to him that if he really wants to make a deal, it’s very important that Israel has confidence that the Trump administration will stand by Israel, protect its security, and really have its back, and he shook his head and seemed to understand that...Clearly he was talking about a two-state solution...He was not in any way, at least in his conversation with me, suggesting a one-state solution.”

Dershowitz refused to confirm the Haaretz report that he had conveyed the content of his conversation with Trump to Prime Minister Netanyahu.

“I told Haaretz that I would not confirm any conversations with the Prime Minister. Any time I speak with the Prime Minister, it’s on a confidential basis.”