Ramallah - Egypt Today
A senior Israeli official stated that Jason Greenblatt, US President Donald Trump's envoy on the peace process, will come to the region soon to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Haaretz newspaper reported Thursday .
The official said that the visit may take place next week or right after Ramadan ends on June 24.
A senior American official confirmed that Greenblatt is trying to schedule a visit but that a final date has yet to be finalized.
Israeli and Palestinian sources said that the Americans would like Netanyahu and Abbas to present their stances on the core issues up for negotiations – borders, security, refugees, Jerusalem and the settlements – so they can map the differences and decide whether, and if so how, to draft a document that would delineate the principles along which the negotiations would be renewed.
"The Americans have ideas and drafts for principles for the renewing of the negotiations," said an Israeli source informed with the details of the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
It added "The White House made preparations and held consultations with a number of people in order to map the positions of the sides and the talks with Netanyahu and Abbas are a part of this process."
A senior Palestinian official said that Abbas and his advisors view positively the administration's efforts to deal with the side's positions on the core issues and not just on the current issues regarding the state on the ground.
According to the official, the Palestinian side is still not considering the consultations with Trump's Middle East peace envoy, Jason Greenblatt, next week as the beginning of a new round of negotiations, but rather they view it as a stage in which the Trump administration is determining how it means to renew the talks.
The Palestinian official stated that during his meeting with Abbas in Bethlehem several weeks ago, Trump raised the idea that the Palestinians and Israelis each send five-person teams to Washington to get started with the negotiations.
According to him, the Palestinians view this positively and are waiting for the end of Ramadan in order to try and reach a date for sending a delegation to Washington.
Source: MENA