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No settlement agreement yet following US-Israel talks
Israeli and American officials have failed to come to an agreement over Israeli construction in the West Bank following four days of talks which ended yesterday in Washington.
Earlier this week, Yoav Horowitz, who is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Chief of Staff, and several Israeli advisors travelled to the US capital to meet an American team headed by US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Jason Greenblatt.
Following four days of talks, the two sides released a joint statement saying “the United States delegation reiterated President Trump’s concerns regarding settlement activity in the context of moving towards a peace agreement. The Israeli delegation made clear that Israel’s intent going forward is to adopt a policy regarding settlement activity that takes those concerns into consideration”.
The statement also said that the teams focused on “concrete near-term measures to improve the overall climate in order to advance the prospects for a genuine and lasting peace”.
It added: “A principal focus of the discussions was specific measures that could have a meaningful impact on the economic environment in the West Bank and Gaza, allowing the Palestinians to more fully realise their economic potential.”
Israeli media suggested this week that the Trump administration had demanded that Israel not build outside the major West Bank settlement blocs, as a pre-condition for involving Saudi Arabia in a wider, regional settlement. American and Israeli officials are expected to continue their talks after failing to reach an agreement.
Also yesterday, the US Senate confirmed that David Friedman will become the new US Ambassador to Israel. The 52-46 vote mostly followed party lines, with only two Democrats voting to approve Friedman’s appointment. Friedman, who is a lawyer with no previous diplomatic background, is thought to be sympathetic to Israeli settlement construction.
Prime Minister Netanyahu welcomed the decision and said that Friedman would be received “with warmth and appreciation as President Trump’s representative and as a staunch friend of Israel”.