WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump and his top advisers asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to change Israel’s policies in the occupied West Bank during their meeting according to a US official and another source, both with direct knowledge, Axios said.
Home to 2.7 million Palestinians, the West Bank has long been at the heart of plans for a future Palestinian state alongside Israel.
According to the US official, the White House thinks a violent escalation in the West Bank would undermine efforts to implement the Gaza peace agreement and prevent the expansion of the Abraham Accords before the end of Trump’s term.
Trump and his team expressed concern about the situation in the West Bank and asked Netanyahu to avoid provocative steps and “calm things down,” the sources said.
The president and his team raised settler violence against Palestinian civilians, the financial instability of the Palestinian Authority, and Israeli settlements expansion, the sources said.
The US message was that changing course in the West Bank is critical to repair Israel’s relations with European countries and, hopefully, expand the Abraham Accords. “Netanyahu spoke very strongly against settler violence and said he is going to take more action,” the source with knowledge said.
Trump asks Netanyahu to change West Bank policy
https://arab.news/nuehc
Trump asks Netanyahu to change West Bank policy
- US President, his team raise settler violence, financial instability of PA, Israeli settlements’ expansion
Palestinian deputy president discusses Gaza with Egyptian officials
- The discussion also centered on strategies for maintaining stability in the Palestinian territories
LONDON: Hussein Al-Sheikh, the deputy president of the Palestinian Authority, discussed security and diplomatic issues during separate meetings in Cairo with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdel Ati and Hassan Rashad, the Director of the Egyptian General Intelligence Service.
Al-Sheikh briefed Egyptian officials on the latest developments regarding the Palestinian issue, in the presence of Major General Majed Faraj, the head of the Palestinian General Intelligence Service.
The discussion on Sunday also centered on strategies for maintaining stability in the Palestinian territories and progressing to the second phase of US President Donald Trump's plan for Gaza, as reported by the Wafa news agency.
Officials also aimed to improve coordination and consultation to tackle the challenges facing Palestine and the wider region.
Al-Sheikh is poised to become the Palestinian president in the event of a power vacuum in the Palestinian Authority, currently led by 90-year-old Mahmoud Abbas.
