By Sputnik
Israel will deal with any initiatives of US President Donald Trump on Middle East settlement in accordance with national security interests, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday.
TEL AVIV (Sputnik) — Earlier this week, reports emerged that the Trump administration’s peace plan will not be based on the pre-1967 lines and will not include the evacuation of Jewish settlements from the West Bank. At the same time, the White House reportedly intends to recognize the Palestinian state.
“With regard to President Trump’s political plan, we heard plenty of speculations over the weekend; I am not planning to address them. I would like to say however, that my attitude towards this plan will be determined according to security and national interests of the State of Israel, and these were made clear to our American friends,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting.
Both during his presidential campaign and after becoming president, Trump promised to take steps toward settling the conflict between Israel and Palestine. During his trip to the Middle East in May, the US president told the Israeli and Palestinian leaders that they should make a compromise in order to achieve peace.
Trump also ordered his senior adviser, Jared Kushner, and Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt to focus on the Middle East peace process. The two officials have made numerous trips to the region and held talks with local officials, but have not revealed the details of their proposals on the issue.
