AP Conversation: Trump says Mideast peace rests with Israel

In his interview with AP, Trump was short on specifics about how he would tackle trying to broker peace in the Middle East, or even whether he supports the longstanding U.S. government goal of a two-state solution — saying he didn't want to show any bias in favor of one side or the other in case he does become president.

[...] the billionaire businessman who has made his skills as a dealmaker a key piece of his pitch to voters was visibly enthusiastic about the prospect of tackling the intractable foreign policy challenge.

Because so much death, so much turmoil, so much hatred — that would be to me a great achievement.

During his unexpected five-month run atop the Republican field, Trump's rivals for the GOP nomination have argued he lacks depth and fluency on foreign policy.

Trump evaded specific questions about whether Palestinian demands in peace negotiations are legitimate and whether Israel should be allowed to build settlements in the West Bank without restrictions, though he said the Israeli housing projects were a "huge sticking point" in talks.

The two-state solution envisions an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel, with the boundaries negotiated in talks between the parties.

The U.S. does not currently recognize the Palestinian territories as an independent state, though the U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly voted in 2012 to recognize Palestine as a "non-member observer state."

The Obama administration has hinted that it would be willing to allow Palestinians to seek full statehood recognition at the U.N. if Israel appeared unwilling to seriously pursue peace talks.

Trump was among 14 presidential candidates speaking at Thursday's forum hosted by the Republican Jewish Coalition, an influential group and aggressive supporter of Israel.