White House Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt revealed that U.S. President Donald Trump was still deliberating on whether to unveil the political dimension of his long-awaited Mideast peace-plan, before or after the elections in Israel – which are scheduled for next month, on September the 17th.
In an exclusive Televised interview with the New York based Bloomberg network, Greenblatt noted that the President is expected to make his decision in the near future, yet vaguely suggested that the American leader would most likely wait until after the next Israeli government is formed.
Greenblatt, who is also Trump’s Presidential Assistant, provided no insight into what the political component of the plan would contain. It’s 50-billion-dollar economic strategy for the Palestinians was rolled out in June at a conference in Bahrain, that was boycotted by the Palestinian Authority. While expressing Washington’s hope to re-engage the Palestinian Authority – which has denounced the White House peace initiative – Greenblatt stressed that Washington is not pursuing a regime change in Ramallah. The envoy did underscore, however, that the U.S. will continue to refuse contact with the Islamist Hamas organization, which controls the Gaza Strip.
He further placed particular emphasis on the assertion that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict “will only be resolved by direct negotiations between the parties,” and that “It is not for the United States, the European Union or the United Nations to demand how this conflict can be resolved.”
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office declined TV7’s request for comment on Greenblatt’s statements.