Donald Trump’s “geatest ever deal” delayed again

Donald Trump ,Jared Kushner and Binyamin Netanyahu

Times of Israel and agencies write, “US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner and his special envoy Jason Greenblatt were due in Israel on Friday, the final leg of a Middle East tour aimed at promoting the US administration’s as-yet unveiled Israeli-Palestinian peace plan and securing humanitarian relief for Gaza. Kushner and Greenblatt were scheduled to be in the Jewish state through Saturday for talks with Israeli leaders. The two US envoys over the past several days have visited Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar in a whirlwind tour. The US peace team’s trip to Amman on Tuesday came a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a rare visit to Jordan for talks with King Abdullah II, after months of strained ties.”

“Readouts from the White House following the series of meetings with Arab leaders have signaled the American officials were focusing talks on their impending peace push and the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. The White House earlier this month confirmed the envoys would be in Israel on June 22-23. US officials have said their peace plan is near completion and could be released this summer. But it faces resistance from the Palestinians, who have cut off ties since Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in December, and then moved the US embassy there in May.  No talks with the Palestinians are scheduled.” (more…)

Akiva Eldar writes in Al Monitor, “Upon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returning on June 18 from his first public visit to Jordan in four years, his office issued a truly minimalist statement on his meeting with King Abdullah II at the Royal Palace in Amman. The first sentence said the two had “discussed regional developments, advancing the peace process and bilateral relations,” its banality highlighting the sole and interesting message in the second sentence: “PM Netanyahu reiterated Israel’s commitment to maintaining the status quo at the holy sites in Jerusalem.”

Ismail Haniyah, Hamas leader, and Mahmoud Abbas, Fatah leader

“Of note, Netanyahu only committed to the status quo at the holy sites. He made no mention of a commitment to reining in the wave of construction in Jerusalem’s Holy Basin, where many holy sites of the three major monotheistic religions are located, and the city’s annexed Palestinian neighborhoods. As far as he is concerned, these are inseparable parts of what he calls a “united Jerusalem, Israel’s eternal capital.”

“On the other hand, the Royal Palace statement underscored the need to define the meaning of “status quo” in the occupied territories. The king not only paid lip service to “advancing the peace process,” but according to the statement, he reaffirmed to his visitor that the only way to achieve peace and stability in the region is by reaching a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and establishing a Palestinian state along the June 4, 1967, borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital. The king further asserted that the issue of Jerusalem must be resolved in permanent status negotiations, since the holy city is key to achieving peace in the region. He made clear that Jordan would maintain its historic role in safeguarding the sites holy to Islam and Christianity in Jerusalem, in accordance with the Hashemite Custodianship, a legacy granted to the Jordanian royal family almost a century ago.” (more…)