Washington Talks End w/o Agreement on «Israeli» Settlements

Local Editor

The Trump administration reiterated its concerns about "Israeli" settlement activity, the two sides said Thursday, as a round of talks ended without agreement over limiting future construction on Palestinian land.

The four days of high-level meetings in Washington marked the latest step by President Donald Trump's aides aimed at opening the way to renewed the so-called "peace" diplomacy between the "Israeli" entity and the Palestinians, despite deep skepticism in the US and Middle East over the chances for success.

Trump's Middle East envoy, Jason Greenblatt, who recently returned from a visit to the region, led the US delegation in what were described as "intensive discussions" with "Israeli" Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's chief of staff Yoav Horowitz and foreign policy adviser Jonathan Schachter.

Despite setting a more positive tone toward the entity than his predecessor Barack Obama, Trump urged Netanyahu during a White House visit last month to "hold back on settlements for a little bit." The two then agreed that their aides would seek an accommodation on how much "Israel" can build and where.

"The United States delegation reiterated President Trump's concerns regarding settlement activity in the context of moving towards a peace agreement," according to a joint statement released by the White House.

"The ‘Israeli' delegation made clear that ‘Israel's' intent going forward is to adopt a policy regarding settlement activity that takes those concerns into consideration," it said. "The talks were serious and constructive, and they are ongoing."

The so-called "peace" talks between the "Israeli" entity and the Palestinians had been frozen since 2014 and settlements are one of the most heated issues.

Most countries consider "Israeli" settlements to be illegal.

Trump had expressed some ambivalence about a so-called "two-state" solution, the mainstay of US policy for the past two decades. But he recently invited Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to visit.

Trump had not publicly detailed what kind of agreement he wants with the entity on settlements. But many supporters of a "two-state: solution have urged a formula that restricts construction to the large settlement blocs that the entity is expected to retain under any final accord.

In the talks, officials discussed measures for improving the climate for "peace", according to the joint readout. It said a key focus was on steps that "could have a meaningful impact on the economic environment in the West Bank and Gaza," and specifically a desire to advance efforts toward "self-sustainability" in electricity and water.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team