A US diplomatic delegation is due to visit Israel and the Palestinian Authority in mid-May, the eastern Jerusalem-based Al-Quds newspaper reported on Thursday.
The members of the delegation will be Hady Amr, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Israeli and Palestinian Affairs at the State Department, former US Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates Barbara Leaf, and Brett McGurk, who was recently appointed as White House coordinator for Middle East affairs.
According to the report, the US delegation will demand that Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas refrain from paying financial allowances to terrorist prisoners and their families in exchange for providing financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority, including security services and UNRWA, renewed support for PA public and private institutions in eastern Jerusalem, the reopening of the US consulate in eastern Jerusalem and the PLO office in Washington and support for a two-state solution.
The report also said that the US administration believes that these measures will lead to the resumption of Israeli-Palestinian Authority negotiations based on a two-state solution.
In the Israeli context, the newspaper reported that the US delegation will demand that the Israeli government avoid placing obstacles in the way of developing the Palestinian economy, facilitate trade in imports and exports, resume peace negotiations, and work to improve the conditions of Palestinian Arab residents.
PA officials have remained defiant and have made clear that the PA will never cease paying terrorists' salaries.
Abbas has in the past called the PA's continued payments to terrorists a "red line" that would not be halted under any circumstances.