The White House issued a statement saying that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had made it clear to President Donald Trump, during their meeting in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, that he was willing to resume negotiations with Israel immediately. The statement further noted that President Trump had stressed in his conversation with the Palestinian leader that peace between Israel and the Palestinians was possible, and that it was important to create a beneficial atmosphere in order to achieve it.
It was further stated that both Trump and Abbas had reaffirmed their commitment to reach genuine peace between Israel and the Palestinians, and that they discussed ways of mobilizing the Arab states, with which Israel has strategic relations with, to advance a political process. The statement by the White House came following a report by the Arabic London-based Newspaper, Al Hayat, which revealed that President Trump is expected to announce a peace initiative within a month.
President Trump’s Middle East envoy, Jason Greenblatt is scheduled to arrive in Israel tomorrow, to follow up on Washington’s efforts to restart the long-stalled peace talks. Nikki Haley, The US’ ambassador to the United Nations, is also scheduled to arrive to Israel, early next month, accompanied by her Israeli counterpart, Ambassador Danny Danon. Haley, who will be visiting Israel for the first time, is expected to meet with President Reuven Rivlin and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. She is also scheduled to visit Israel’s southern and northern borders and get a helicopter tour of Israel.