U.S. Ambassador to Israel Denies That Trump Is Delaying Mideast Peace Plan

David Friedman said media has been 'wildly inaccurate,' after reports that Trump is delaying his peace plan due to pressure from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Noa Landau

Nov 26, 2018

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A meeting between Jared Kushner, Jason Greenblatt, David Friedman and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv, June 21, 2017.Credit: Mati Shtern/ U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem

Noa Landau

Nov 26, 2018

U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman denied reports on Monday that the U.S. government is delaying publication of Donald Trump's peace plan because of alleged pressure from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the wake of recent upsets within the coalition.

In an official statement, Friedman reiterated past statements that the peace plan will be released when the U.S. president and administration have "maximized its potential for acceptance, execution and implementation."

Friedman said, "Jared Kushner, Jason Greenblatt and I had a very productive meeting last week in the Oval Office with President Trump, Vice President Pence, Secretary Pompeo and Ambassador Bolton in which we discussed the President’s vision for comprehensive peace between Israel and the Palestinians."

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Friedman added that media reports of their meeting "have been wildly inaccurate," and added that he, Kushner and Greenblatt "are of one mind on how best to proceed."

The Israeli newspaper, Maariv, reported on Sunday that Trump was delaying the release of his peace plan in response to pressure from Netanyahu while the Israeli prime minister deals with unrest within the coalition.

A tweet by U.S. Ambassador to Israel David FriedmanCredit: Twitter/David M. Friedman

In August of this year, Netanyahu said that he sees no urgency in revealing U.S. President Donald Trump's peace plan for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"It's his issue if he wants to promote it," Netanyahu told journalists in Vilnius during a briefing following his meetings with the prime ministers of Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia. "It may come, even though I don't see any urgency on the matter."

Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked said earlier this month, that Trump's peace plan is a "waste of time."

"I want peace like everyone else," she said, "but I don't believe an agreement can be reached. I would tell Trump: 'Don't waste your time.'"