US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo concluded today (Wednesday) a visit to Israel after meetings with Israeli leaders on the Israeli plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank.
During his six-hour visit, Pompeo held separate meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Benny Gantz, leader of the centrist "Blue and White" party, Netanyahu´s partner in the upcoming unity government.
The US minister also met with Gabi Ashkenazi, a member of the Israeli Knesset from the "Blue and White" party, who is expected to be foreign minister for the new government, and Yossi Cohen, head of the Israeli intelligence agency (Mossad).
Pompeo´s meeting with Netanyahu focused on the latter´s plan to annex the Jordan Valley, which took a large part of his campaign to be re-elected in March, and the new Corona Virus Disease (Covid-19) crisis, as well as the Iranian file.
Pompeo, in joint statements with Israeli leaders at the beginning of their meeting, accused Iran of trying to "stir up terrorism" during the new Corona virus disease crisis.
He said, "The campaign that we were part of to reduce the resources has paid off," referring to the nuclear energy sanctions that the United States imposed on Iran.
For his part, Netanyahu expressed his "appreciation for the strong position" of the American administration against Iran, saying that "Iran did not stop for a minute its aggressive plans and its aggressive actions against the Americans, the Israelis and everyone else in the region."
He praised the "unbreakable bond" between Israel and the United States, adding that the unity government, which is expected to be installed on Thursday, is "an opportunity to promote peace and security on the basis of the understandings reached with President (Donald) Trump" in January.
These understandings include a plan to annex parts of the West Bank.
Netanyahu also said that Israel is willing to "enhance cooperation" with the United States in fighting the Coronavirus disease.
Pompeo arrived yesterday morning at Ben Gurion International Airport outside Tel Aviv, wearing a mask in the colors of the American flag, and went straight to Jerusalem, where he received an exemption from the Israeli stone requirement for two weeks.
Pompeo´s visit is the first that an international official has arrived in Israel since January, when the Israeli government imposed restrictions for the first time on Coronavirus.
The visit comes one day before the swearing-in ceremony to form a new power-sharing government led by Netanyahu and Gantz.
Netanyahu has repeatedly vowed to annex the Jordan Valley, which Israel occupied with the rest of the West Bank during the 1967 war.
Under the unity government agreement that Netanyahu and Gantz signed in April, he could take the annexation step starting in July.
The annexation is part of the Trump peace plan, but it was not immediately clear whether the United States would support the timing of the move.
The move met with opposition from the Palestinians and the Arab world, as well as international forums such as the United Nations, which denounced the plan as "a violation of international law."
