President Donald Trump during a news conference at the G-7 summit, Biarritz, France, Aug. 25, 2019. (AP/Andrew Harnik)
Trump said that he might drop details of his administration’s Mideast peace plan before Israel’s election.
By World Israel News Staff
In a reversal from previous statements, President Donald Trump said he might release his Mideast peace plan prior to Israel’s election, which will take place on September 17. He made his comments to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Biarritz, France, news site Axios reports.
The U.S. had intended to release the political aspects of its plan this summer when it assumed a new Israeli government would be securely in place. However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu couldn’t cobble together a governing coalition and was forced to call for new elections.
Trump continued this approach as Israel entered its second round of campaigning. Only a week ago Sunday, on August 18, Trump told reporters that he’d “probably wait” to release details of the Middle East peace plan until after Israel’s elections.
The plan was developed by a team led by Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and a senior adviser to the president. He unveiled the economic part of the plan in June in Bahrain. It calls for a $50 billion fund to finance 179 business and infrastructure projects with the goal of creating one million new jobs for Palestinians.
The Palestinian side has rejected the Trump administration’s peace efforts and has boycotted the administration since December 2017 when it announced its plan (since carried out) to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem.
Whether or not the U.S. releases its plan before or after the elections, the deadline is approaching.
Israel in preparation for the plan’s coming release recently let known its red lines in any peace deal, including an undivided Jerusalem, no uprooting of settlements, complete security control of Judea and Samaria and no entry of Palestinian “refugees.”
Some have said the peace deal is dead in the water as the Palestinian side has so far rejected anything coming out of the Trump administration.
Trump himself has said the deal may not be possible. He said on August 18, “it’s tough to make a deal when there’s that much hate.”
Proposed coalition would also need Shas support, despite its endorsement of Netanyahu.
The agency last estimated Iran held over 440 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60% purity.
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