Senior administration official dismisses report on comprehensive peace plan and potential U.S. pressure on sides, saying it “would be more newsworthy if we weren’t working toward an enduring peace” • U.S. official: Egypt has strong desire to help peace efforts.
By Erez Linn and Israel Hayom Staff
The White House on Sunday dismissed a Channel 2 News report that the U.S. was finalizing a comprehensive regional peace plan that would depart from previous administrations’ initiatives, saying the report did not properly reflect ongoing diplomatic efforts.
A senior administration official told Israel Hayom that “it would be more newsworthy if we weren’t working towards an enduring peace.”
Channel 2 News reported that the supposed plan would be “sharp and to the point.” The channel also cited U.S. officials who said Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was genuinely interested in a peace deal. According to the report, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu conveyed to his ministers that President Donald Trump might “exact a price” from Israel or the Palestinians if they refused to embrace his upcoming plan, even if this led to a coalition crisis in Jerusalem.
The administration official seemed to dismiss all this as well, saying: “We are engaged in a productive dialogue with all relevant parties about an enduring peace deal but are not going to put an artificial deadline on anything. We have no imminent plans beyond continuing our conversations. As we have always said, our job is to facilitate a deal that works for both Israelis and Palestinians, not to impose anything on them.”
Meanwhile, the White House elaborated Sunday on Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt’s ongoing conversations, noting that his talks in Egypt were of significance.
“Last week, in Cairo, [Egyptian Director of Intelligence] Gen. Khaled Fawzi and his delegation met with the United States Special Representative for Negotiations [Greenblatt] and the United States delegation to discuss the situation in Gaza and the Fatah-Hamas reconciliation efforts,” a senior administration official said in a statement.
“The United States reiterated the importance of any Palestinian government adhering to the Quartet principles, unambiguously and explicitly committing to nonviolence, recognizing the State of Israel, accepting previous agreements and obligations between the parties – including to disarm terrorists – and committing to peaceful negotiations. Egypt expressed a strong desire to assist the United States’ peace efforts, as well as its willingness to help improve the welfare of Palestinians living in Gaza and the West Bank.”
According to the official, “The United States welcomed such efforts and the two sides agreed to use their best efforts to work together, as well as with the Palestinian Authority, Israel, Jordan and others in the region to explore all available opportunities to provide humanitarian assistance to Palestinians living in Gaza. Such assistance will require the international community to join together to fund projects that will tangibly and positively impact all Palestinians.”
The official added that “the parties also discussed the critical need to preserve the security of Egypt and Israel. Creating a lasting peace agreement will take time. All the actions noted above will help pave the way toward a comprehensive peace agreement.”
Great if there was someone, anyone worth negotiating with on the Pal side. Hamas have already sworn that they will never disarm, never recognise Israel and will fight until Israel is destroyed. Abbas has no influence on Hamas. That’s about it. No peace deal except a false one can ever emerge from such a situation. There is indeed no diplomatic solution.