Greenblatt: Trump can run for reelection and push peace plan at same time

He discussed the timeline to roll out the political component of the peace plan and said it might be postponed until a new government in Israel is formed, around November 6.

OMRI NAHMIAS

June 16, 2019 19:27
Greenblatt: Trump can run for reelection and push peace plan at same time
NEW YORK – Jason Greenblatt, the special envoy for international negotiations, said at the Jerusalem Post Annual Conference in New York that he agrees with the comments of Ambassador David Friedman, who said last week that Israel has the right to annex parts of the West Bank.

“I support his comment,” Greenblatt said. “I will let David’s comments stand for themselves.”

He discussed the timeline to roll out the political component of the peace plan and said it might be postponed until a new government in Israel is formed, around November 6.

He added that after the late delay in rolling out the plan due to Israel April’s election, the Trump administration would not lay out in advance a specific timeline. “Now we are focusing on [the] Bahrain [workshop],” he added.

Asked by the Jerusalem Post Editor in Chief Yaakov Katz if releasing a plan during an election year is possible, Greenblatt said that the President “can do a lot of things [at the same time]. We don’t think that elections campaign could stop the progress.”

He added that Trump “is absolutely involved” in the process.

He addressed the upcoming economic workshop in Bahrain and said: “[Palestinian diplomat] Saeb Erekat and others are distorting our message. They’re saying essentially that the Bahrain conference is about buying the Palestinians off. Absolutely not true.

“The Bahrain Summit is aimed to show what could happen to the Palestinian economy if there’s a peace agreement. We understand completely that there is no economic vision that’ll work without a peace agreement. But we also want to make the point that there will be no peace agreement that works without true economic vision. We’re trying to break the cycle of aid and dependency and create an economy. They work hand in hand.”

He refused to share specific details from the plan and explained: “We hold something very delicate in our hands. if we keep a tight lid on it, we increase chances of success.”

Content retrieved from: https://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Greenblatt-Trump-can-run-for-reelection-and-push-peace-plan-at-same-time-592715.

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