The Trump administration is considering formulating a document of principles for a solution to the core issues between the Israelis and Palestinians the Hebrew newspaper Haaretz reported on Thursday morning according to senior Israeli Palestinian Authority (PA) and American officials.
The White House has not yet made a decision on the plan that the US will employ to advance the peace process between Israel and the PA.
Last Thursday two days after Trump concluded his visit in the region special US envoy Jason Greenblatt visited Jerusalem and Ramallah to meet with PM Benjamin Netanyahu and PA President Mahmoud Abbas.
According to an Israeli source updated on the details of the conversations Greenblatt talked with the two about ideas the US is considering for a plan to renew negotiations and requested to hear from them about how they wanted the process to proceed and what they saw as a desired result.
Several days later Greenblatt provided Netanyahu and Likud MKs with a look at potential plans being considered by the White House and hinted that the formulation of a statement of principles is one of them.
“The current administration fervently wishes to put something on the table” said Netanyahu in a closed meeting with Likud MKs last Monday. “We have positions that are important for us but that doesn’t mean that these are acceptable to them” he said.
Netanyahu and his advisers are prepared for the possibility that the Trump administration will act towards the formulation of a statement of principles in conjunction with the parties as an initial step in the negotiation process or even present the sides with a statement of principles as a US proposal that will serve as a basis for the beginning of contact regarding a permanent settlement.
“We estimate that they will bring a plan but we don’t know what it will be” said an Israeli official involved in the matter who asked to remain anonymous.
