Jason Greenblatt
Jason GreenblattReuters

Jason Greenblatt, US President Donald Trump’s Special Representative for International Negotiations, on Tuesday pointed out the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt and said that it is proof that peace is possible.

“40 years ago today, Israel and Egypt signed the Camp David Accords ushering in a new era of peace between the two countries. Proof that lasting peace is possible,” he tweeted.

Egypt became the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel in 1979, and was joined by Jordan in 1994.

Greenblatt is at the front of the efforts to achieve a peace treaty between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA), as he is currently working on a peace plan together with Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser.

The PA has already rejected the peace plan before it has even been made public.

PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas has refused to consider the Trump administration an honest broker for negotiations since Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital last December.

Greenblatt told Reuters last week that Washington was prepared for Israeli criticism of the plan and that both sides can expect parts they will like and dislike, though he did not provide further details.

He also said US negotiators had entered the “pre-launch phase” of the plan, despite the boycott by PA leaders.

Egypt, for its part, has in the past expressed willingness to mediate talks between Israel and the PA.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi has urged Israelis and Palestinian Arabs to take advantage the opportunity and resume peace talks. He has also stressed that his country was serious about pushing those talks forward.