Report: Trump will convey opposition to ‘settlements’ during Israel trip

An anonymous official reportedly said that Trump will express his opposition to construction in Judea and Samaria during next week’s visit in Israel.

US President Donald Trump will convey his opposition to Israeli construction in Judea and Samaria during his visit to Israel next week, according to a report in The Jerusalem Post that cited an anonymous US senior official.

“(Trump) has expressed a general concern,” the official reportedly said. “He will reiterate that,” the official continued, adding that “(Trump) has not abandoned the two-state solution.”

Moreover, Trump expects “assurances and signals from the Israeli government that they’ve heard his views” on Israeli construction in Judea and Samaria, the senior official reportedly added.​

The report in The Post follows a recent report in Israel Hayom that quoted Trump’s Ambassador to Israel David Friedman saying the exact opposite.

“We have no demand for a settlement freeze,” Friedman said in an interview with Israel Hayom.

“If you look at what the president has said since taking office about settlements, his position has been remarkably different than the Obama administration’s,” Friedman continued. “Trump has not come out and said that settlements are an obstacle to peace; he has not called for a settlement freeze.”

Earlier this week a statement by another anonymous senior US official, who said the Western Wall was not part of Israel, was later rejected by Trump’s Press Secretary Sean Spicer and by US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley.

It was later revealed the official was the political counselor of the US Consulate, who was employed by the Obama administration.

By: Jonathan Benedek, World Israel News

David FriedmanJudea and Samaria