Trump’s man in Israel
Trump’s envoy Jason Greenblatt was shocked by the conditions he saw in Gaza such as the lack of fresh water so people have to buy it from a water-seller as here in Khan Younis refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip. Photo by Khalil Hamra/ AP
Alongside Ultimate Deal, Trump Administration Eyes Preventing Gaza’s Next Crisis
Jason Greenblatt has made it clear to all sides that addressing economic conditions is not a substitute for diplomatic negotiations, but a supporting element – and he wants Israel’s help.
By Barak Ravid and Amir Tibon, Haaretz premium
April 07, 2017
U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, Jason Greenblatt, asked Israeli officials and Arab foreign ministers in recent weeks to promote substantial steps for improving the severe economic and humanitarian situation in Gaza, as part of his efforts to renew peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
Israeli and American sources who have spoken to Greenblatt told Haaretz this issue is a top priority for him, but that he also made it clear to all sides that it is not a substitute for diplomatic negotiations, but a supporting element.
Donald Trump’s Mideast peace envoy Jason Greenblatt with PM Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, March 13, 2017. Photo by Kobi Gideon, GPO
Greenblatt raised the issue of conditions in Gaza during his first meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem last month, and once again three weeks ago when a delegation of Netanyahu’s senior advisers visited the White House. Last week Greenblatt met in Washington with Deputy Minister Michael Oren, a former ambassador to the U.S. who is responsible for coordinating Gaza reconstruction efforts with the international community on Netanyahu’s behalf. Prior to that, Greenblatt brought up Gaza’s plight in his meetings with a number of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League summit in Jordan.
During his first visit to Israel and the Palestinian Authority, Greenblatt met with a group of citizens from Gaza. After the meeting, which was held in Bethlehem, Greenblatt wrote on his Twitter account: “Met cross section of folks from Gaza – gave me hope we can find solutions to humanitarian challenges while meeting Israel’s security needs.”
One subject that was raised in that meeting, and seemed to have a strong influence on Greenblatt, was the hardships facing Gazans who suffer from cancer and other terminal illnesses, and need to receive medical treatment in Israel or neighbouring countries. Greenblatt raised the issue in his meeting with Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories.
He raised it later again in consultations with the professional rank in Washington. “This issue really touched him,” a person who spoke to Greenblatt told Haaretz. “He is a compassionate person who cares about human beings, and the stories he heard from the Gaza residents influenced him.”
Mordechai, like Oren, encouraged Greenblatt to work with Israel and Arab countries on steps to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Israel’s ambassador to Washington, Ron Dermer, who is involved in the talks with Greenblatt on confidence-building measures that Israel could offer the Palestinians, has also told Greenblatt that Israel wants first of all to improve conditions in Gaza.
During Greenblatt’s visit to Israel last month, he also met with Transportation and Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz, who presented him his plan to create an artificial island off the Gazan coast, where a seaport would be built along with other infrastructure to serve Gaza’s population. Katz told reporters on Wednesday that Greenblatt expressed his willingness to promote the plan.
An Israeli official said Greenblatt has shown interest in promoting steps that would improve the economy and living conditions in Gaza in the short term, but also infrastructure projects that would help stabilize it over time. The official, who met with Greenblatt, added that the U.S. envoy believes such steps would also lower Hamas’ motivation to enter a new round of hostilities with Israel.
Ever since taking on the role of Trump’s envoy to the region, Greenblatt has brought up the issue of the Palestinian economy in almost every meeting he has held with Israel, Palestinian and Arab officials. The issue also appeared in many of the Trump administration’s press releases.
One of Greenblatt’s very first meetings on the job was a dialogue with a group of Palestinian business executives who visited Washington a few days after Trump’s inauguration to open communication channels with the new administration. The economic situation was also a main topic in Greenblatt’s meeting in Washington with Education Minister Naftali Bennett two weeks ago.
Despite all that, however, an Israeli official who met with Greenblatt told Haaretz that the American envoy has made it clear to all sides that economic improvement was not a substitute to serious negotiations in an attempt to reach a peace agreement.
A few people have moved into this city under construction but completion of Rawabi is hampered by lack of water and roads both of which are under Israeli control. Photo from The National.
Another issue that has been raised in Greenblatt’s talks with Israel is the new Palestinian city Rawabi, which is being built to the north of Ramallah. The American envoy asked Israeli officials to look into Palestinian complaints that Israel was stalling the construction of a new access road to Rawabi that would suit the city’s future transportation needs, once it becomes home to thousands of residents.
Among the small staff working for Greenblatt in the White House and the State Department there is a constant fear of leaks that could hurt his efforts, and also possibly renew pressure from right-wing groups on the White House to remove Yael Lempert and Michael Ratney, two career diplomats who dealt with the Israeli-Palestinian issue under the Obama administration, and have remained in their positions since Trump became president.
Trump appoints ex-Israeli settler to oversee peace process
By Roqayah Chamseddine, Mondoweiss
December 25, 2016
Jason Greenblatt, the 49-year-old real estate attorney representing Donald Trump’s business conglomerate—serving as the executive vice president and chief legal officer for The Trump Organization since 1997—has recently been named special representative for international negotiations. A source told CNN that this role will mean that “Greenblatt will primarily will be working on Israel-Palestinian peace process, the American relationship with Cuba and trade agreements.”
Greenblatt is another staunchly pro-Israel voice joining the President-elect’s administration and according to The Forward may be the first leading adviser on Israel to a US President that’s done guard duty at a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank while “armed with an M-16 assault weapon.” While Greenblatt supports a two-state solution, he believes that the withdrawal from Gaza was the forerunner to the rise of Hamas, as well as the following wars. The real estate attorney who will become America’s leading man on Israel once studied at a religious school in the West Bank settlement of Alon Shuvot, and is the author of a tourist guide on family holidays in Israel.
Greenblatt’s political ideology concerning Israel is the same as Trump’s, and the businessman turned president has deferred to him for policy decisions on Israel. In an interview with Israel’s Channel 1 News, Greenblatt suggests that Donald Trump will “try” to work towards a two-state solution, and that the Trump administration will be a friend to Israel and of Benjamin Netanyahu who he says he hopes we’ll see in the White House. “[Trump] has gone on record to say that the settlements in the West Bank can stay…I personally believe that they should stay. I don’t believe that they’re an obstacle to peace and the whole Gaza situation proves that,” Greenblatt says.
Greenblatt had been serving as Co-Chairman of the Israel Advisory Committee for the Trump campaign, along with David Friedman who the president-elect has been tapped at the next U.S. ambassador to Israel. Trump’s platform on Israel, released in November, reveals a single-minded view of the occupation devoted to further strengthening the already hyper-militaristic relationship between the US and Israel. The policy statement notes in part that a Trump administration will “ensure that Israel receives maximum military, strategic and tactical cooperation from the United States, and the [Memorandum of Understanding] will not limit the support that we give.”
The first Memorandum of Understanding [MOU], signed in 1981, was directed at confronting “Soviet threats in the Middle East”, with the objective of enhancing strategic cooperation between the US and Israel. The latest MOU was signed in September, guaranteeing a security package for Israel that would entail $38 billion over 10 years, and would include missile defense systems, and fighter jets.
On the United Nations, Greenblatt and his co-chairman David Friedman argue that the US should “veto any United Nations votes that unfairly single out Israel”, and that a Trump administration will work to “oppose any efforts to delegitimize Israel, impose discriminatory double standards against Israel, or to impose special labelling requirements on Israeli products or boycotts on Israeli goods.”
Among the other nationalistic flourishes that bleed through the platform statement, Israel as the “state of the Jewish people” is arguably the central refrain, as is the call to continue to provide Israel will military aid, and all else that it may need in order to ‘defend itself’. “The Palestinians” are only mentioned in order to scold them for what they call ‘attempts to avoid having to commit to a peaceful coexistence’—the main “attempt” in this case is the BDS movement. “The false notion that Israel is an occupier should be rejected [by the Palestinians],” the statement reads.
According to Arutz Sheva, Trump’s administration is shaping up to be one of the most pro-Israel that has been seen ‘in a generation’, and an overwhelming number of Israeli’s—83% according to a recent poll—are confident that his administration will work in Israel’s best interest. A report by the Jewish Journal notes that before the 2012 US elections 47% of Israelis considered the Obama administration to be “pro-Palestinian”, and only 21% said they thought it was “pro-Israeli”. Fast forward to 2015 and that number crashed: only 9% of those polled said that the current administration is “pro-Israeli” while 60% said it was “pro-Palestinian”. With Greenblatt joining Trump’s administration there’s no doubt that any policies decisions made will work in Israel’s favour, as they’ve said just as much.