Jason Greenblatt meets Binyamin Netanyahu
Jason Greenblatt meets Binyamin NetanyahuFlash 90

US special envoy Jason Greenblatt spoke last night at the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee’s annual meeting in New York.

The committee, chaired by Norway and co-sponsored by the US and the European Union, coordinates international donations to the PA.

Addressing participants, Greenblatt emphasized that the current US administration’s approach to achieving peace between Israel and the PA departs significantly from that of previous administrations.

He noted that, while the US is holding discussions with both Israel and the PA and taking steps to enable the formulation of a peace agreement, ““It is no secret that our approach to these discussions departs from some of the usual orthodoxy – for after years of well-meaning attempts to negotiate an end to this conflict, we have all learned some valuable lessons.”

Greenblatt went on to explain what had changed in the American approach. “Instead of working to impose a solution from the outside, we are giving the parties space to make their own decisions about their future. Instead of laying blame for the conflict at the feet of one party or the other, we are focused on implementing existing agreements and unlocking new areas of cooperation which benefit both Palestinians and Israelis.”

Yesterday, before his meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu is New York, US President Donald Trump said that he thought peace between Israel and the PA was attainable.

“We are giving it an absolute go. I think there's a good chance that it could happen. Most people would say there's no chance whatsoever,” Trump said.

“I actually think with the capability of Bibi and, frankly, the other side, I really think we have a chance. I think Israel would like to see it, and I think the Palestinians would like to see it. And I can tell you that the Trump administration would like to see it,” he stressed.

Nevertheless, the Trump administration has avoided explicitly endorsing the two-state solution, and has refused to define Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria as obstacles to peace.

This week, US ambassador to Israel David Friedman slammed the Obama administration for comparing Israeli housing projects to murderous Arab terror attacks.

“[The Obama administration] drew a parallel between the settlements and terrorism,” he told Israel Hayom in an interview published Sunday. “I want to make it clear again: the settlements are definitely a very important subject and merit debate, but terrorism is murder.”