The White House has not made a final decision in a round of talks about whether to back Israel’s plan to annex parts of the West Bank, a senior White House official said. “There is yet no final decision on next steps for implementing the Trump plan,” the official said, adding only that the talks had been “productive.”
The discussions have concluded for the time being after three days, with US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman and US Mideast envoy Avi Berkowitz heading to Israel for more work on the issue. The Times of Israel reported early this month that the White House was “highly unlikely” to green light Israeli annexation by July 1, that more work was needed on the mapping of the territories, and that Berkowitz and Jared Kushner would likely first come to Jerusalem to discuss outstanding issues.
This week’s White House discussions reportedly also included senior adviser Kushner and national security adviser Robert O’Brien. It was not clear whether US President Donald Trump was actively involved in the meetings. A Channel 13 news report last week said Friedman, who flew back to the US for the meetings, strongly backs Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s declared intention to go ahead with the move starting July 1, but Kushner was said to be more ambivalent. -Full Report
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