Tibi: 'Ahmad, not Muhammad' to be next prime minister
Joint List MK Ahmad Tibi was responding to a reported statement by U.S. President Donald Trump
By YVETTE J. DEANEUpdated: AUGUST 21, 2018 02:47MK Ahmad Tibi (Joint List) at the Knesset during a discussion on the Nation-State Law August 8, 2018.(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
Joint List MK Ahmad Tibi jokingly corrected President Donald Trump's reported statement saying someone named Mohammed would be the name of the next Israeli prime minister if there was a one-state solution."Mr President, do you also confuse the names? Ahmad, not Mohammed. Ahmad," Tibi wrote on Twitter on Monday, joking he could be the next prime minister in a bi-national state.Tibi is the most popular lawmaker among Israeli Arabs, according to an end-of-year poll by the Statnet Research Institute, which specializes in the Israeli-Arab sector.Tibi was responding to a French source that cited Trump saying, possibly in jest, that if a one-state solution comes to pass "the prime minister's name will be Mohammed."This statement came in response to Jordanian King Abdullah II’s assertion that many young Palestinians are no longer interested in a two-state solution, but rather in one state with equal rights for all. The result, he said, would be Israel losing its Jewish character.According to the report, Abdullah also advised Trump that now is not an optimal time to present a peace plan for the region, since there are “too many difficulties.” He also said that if Washington expects him to support the proposed plan, he has to see it.Trump apparently touted that he wants to promote a peace agreement because if his administration “can’t reach a deal, no administration will be able to.”The Channel Ten report added that an Israeli source confirmed the French report.When pressed for comment, the White House did not reply.Trump administration officials have said the peace plan is essentially complete and could drop at any time once the team feels the timing is right.
Some officials have suggested the moment might arrive months from now, but others have hinted the plan could be revealed by the end of the summer.Team members have said for months that aspects of the plan will appeal to Palestinians and others will please the Israelis – but neither will be entirely satisfied with the plan as a whole.Jerusalem Post Staff and Michael Wilner contributed to this report.
