Greenblatt: Israel Should Earmark Lands for Palestinian State before Annexation

Arab World

July 26th, 6:49am

Ramallah - Asharq Al-Awsat

General view of houses of the Israeli settlement of Givat Ze'ev, in the occupied West Bank February 7, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad/File Photo

Outgoing US Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt said the Israeli government should earmark "future lands for the Palestinian state" if it wishes to move forward with the annexation plan based on the "Deal of the Century." This came in statements he made to Army Radio which reinforced that a dispute with the US administration on the annexation hindered the process – which was set to kick off at the beginning of this month. The peace process will be a grand challenge in the coming months, Greenblatt noted, expressing confidence that the Israeli government wouldn’t implement the plan without coordinating with the US administration. Washington wants the process to be part of negotiations that guarantee the implementation of the "Deal of the Century", but the Palestinians reject the annexation and the US plan. Palestinians suggested returning to the Quartet negotiations instead of going for a possible confrontation in case Israel annexed parts of the West Bank. Earlier, the Palestinian Authority (PA) conveyed a message to the international quartet - the European Union, Russia, United Nations, and the United States – expressing readiness to establish a state of limited armament capability and to approve a third party assigned by the UN to guarantee the respect of the peace deal regarding security and the borders. Some Arab and European states are working hand in hand with Russia, China, and the UN to bring both parties back to the negotiation table – however, Palestinians accuse Israel of conducting more settlement plots in favor of the annexation. The National Bureau for Defending Land and Resisting Settlements – affiliated with the Palestinian Liberation Organization - said in its latest weekly report that “the successive Israeli governments continue to confiscate more and more Palestinian lands,” particularly in Jerusalem, the Jordan Valley, and Bethlehem.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2411981/greenblatt-israel-should-earmark-lands-palestinian-state-annexation