Deputy Spokesperson for the U.S. State Department Robert Palladino rejected a claim by Palestinian Chief Negotiator Saeb Erekat, who accused Israel of “plotting to separate Gaza from the ‘whole Palestinian issue’ with the help of the Trump Administration.” Palladino – who quoted the U.S. Mideast Envoy Jason Greenblatt during a State Department press briefing – stressed that the separation of the West Bank and Gaza “has been the reality on the ground,” both physically and politically, for the past 10 years; calling Erekat’s attempt to blame Israel for this reality “absurd.” According to Palladino, the peace initiative that is being formulated by the Trump Administration for the decades-old Middle East conflict, will aim to “bring them together” and intends “to help all Palestinians in both the West Bank and Gaza.” The State Department’s deputy spokesperson also accused the Palestinian leadership of spreading “the type of disinformation” that seeks to hinder Trump’s deal of the century, while emphasizing that the United States made it abundantly clear: contrary to Palestinian statements, “the final boundaries of Israeli sovereignty and Jerusalem remains to be decided through negotiations.”
