Jason Greenblatt
Jason GreenblattYonatan Sindel/Flash 90

Jason Greenblatt, the US Special Representative for International Negotiations, on Friday told Sky News in Arabic that the Palestinian Authority (PA) leadership is adhering to old concepts that do not promote peace.

Greenblatt, who was quoted by Channel 13 News, added that the US peace plan alone will not completely resolve the disputes between the parties, who will also have to conduct direct negotiations between them.

He added that no one can force both sides to implement the deal, but if they do not accept the plan, they will lose a significant opportunity to achieve peace and especially the Palestinians. Greenblatt further said that despite the fact that the PA leadership had reduced its relations with the United States, the American administration still met with Palestinians who were not part of the leadership.

Finally, Greenblatt said that the administration is asking the Israelis and Palestinians to examine the plan before taking a stand on the issue, adding that the administration is not only making its decisions based on peace efforts but also based on US interests.

"President Donald Trump sees himself as someone who always tries to keep his promises," he said.

Earlier on Friday, Greenblatt shot down rumors that the US peace plan would include giving a portion of the Sinai Peninsula to Gaza.

“Hearing reports our plan includes the concept that we will give a portion of Sinai (which is Egypt’s) to Gaza. False! Please don’t believe everything you read. Surprising and sad to see how people who don’t know what’s in the plan make up and spread fake stories,” he wrote on Twitter.

Little is known about the Trump administration’s peace plan, which has come to be known as the “Deal of the Century”.

Greenblatt on Wednesday confirmed a Reuters report saying that the Trump administration’s peace plan will be unveiled after Israel forms a governing coalition and after the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which ends in early June.

A source familiar with the Trump peace plan told The Washington Post on Sunday that it will include practical improvements in the lives of Palestinian Arabs but is likely to stop short of ensuring a separate, fully sovereign Palestinian state.

(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Passover in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)