Mike Pompeo with David Friedman
Mike Pompeo with David FriedmanReuters

US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman has left Israel for marathon talks in Washington DC aimed at reaching an agreement on Israel’s sovereignty plan, according to a report by Channel 12 Sunday.

The report claimed that Friedman will be in Washington for two weeks to discuss the future of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s plan to apply Israeli law over parts of Judea and Samaria within the framework of the Trump administration’s Middle East peace plan.

A source within the US embassy in Israel said in response that Friedman had left the country for “personal leave”.

"The Ambassador is out of the country on personal leave. We don’t comment on internal US government policy deliberations. We remain committed to supporting the President’s Vision for Peace as laid out in January.”

Netanyahu’s sovereignty plan, which was supposed to be brought to the government at the beginning of July, has not yet been formally proposed.

Last week, Netanyahu hinted that the sovereignty plan was being held up due to an inability to reach an agreement with the Trump administration over the parameters of the plan.

"For me, the application of sovereignty has not been dropped from the agenda - it depends on the White House," Netanyahu told Likud lawmakers at a faction meeting.