BICOM

The Trump administration is boosting its Middle East team ahead of plans to publish its long awaited plan for Israeli-Palestinian talks.

The Associated Press (AP) reported today that the National Security Council (NSC), which co-ordinates Israeli-Palestinian policy, has begun recruiting staff from other Washington agencies to help the team get Israeli and Palestinian leaders back to the negotiating table.

The new team is being drafted to organise the plan’s presentation and manage talks that may develop out of the proposals, according to an NSC official. There is still uncertainty as to when the administration will release its plan.

The team will have three units: one concentrating on its political and security details, one on its significant economic focus and one on strategic communications.

In late July, Saudi Arabia and other key Arab countries reportedly told the Trump administration they would not support its plan if it does not propose a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem.

The US has criticised Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas for refusing to engage with the Trump administration since it recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel last December.

“We assume there will be fair and substantial criticism of the plan, but we are astonished that Abbas won’t even see it. It would be a shame for the Palestinian people if the Palestinian leadership refuses to engage with this plan,” an official said.

A US official told Haaretz in mid-June: “Our top priority is to put it [the plan] out at the right moment, so that the various spoilers who don’t want us to succeed have less of a chance to cause damage. We are a facilitator. It would be arrogant to assume we know better than anyone else … at the end of the day, the two sides need to negotiate and reach an agreement. We want to help them reach that point, but we can’t structure the agreement for them.”