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Amb. Friedman confirms: ‘Deal of the Century’ delayed

Ambassador Friedman confirmed reports that the U.S. has postponed the unveiling of its peace deal in wake of the volatile political situation in Israel.  

By Yona Schnitzer/TPS

“The United States remains committed to sharing its vision for peace with Israel, the Palestinians and other regional and international stakeholders at the appropriate time,” U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman said Monday following reports that the publication of President Donald Trump’s “deal of the century” is to be postponed as a result of the political situation in Israel.

“Our timing, our strategy and our messaging is and will be entirely our own. We intend to release the President’s vision when the Administration concludes that we have maximized its potential for acceptance, execution and implementation,” Friedman continued.

On Thursday, the Palestinian news website Al-Quds reported that President Trump had decided to postpone the publication of the deal due to political crisis resulting from the withdrawal of Avigdor Liberman and his Israel Beiteinu party from the governing coalition

“[Prime Minister Binyamin] Netanyahu prefers that there not be any announcement of the plan, especially following the recent incidents in the Middle East and the political situation in Israel,” a source told Al-Quds.

The source added that Netanyahu wished to avoid public discussion about concessions to the Palestinians as part of the deal as to not make him look weak next to Education Minister Naftali Bennett, who last week demanded to be appointed Defense Minister, only to later back down from the demand in order to prevent early elections.

Responding directly to those reports, Ambassador Friedman said: “Mr. Kushner, Mr. Greenblatt and I are of one mind in terms of how best to proceed. Those anonymous “experts” who purport to speak for the Administration on this issue are ill-informed and mistaken.”