"Washington has not changed its position on the issue of (Israel) annexing West Bank settlements (occupied)," said Assistant Secretary of State for Middle East Affairs David Schenker today.
This came in statements made by Schenker to reporters in Washington, commenting on the visit of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday to "Tel Aviv", according to the Hebrew "Can" channel. "The president has set a path for peace and we expect direct talks between (Israel) and the Palestinians," said Pompeo´s aide, adding that "work on the joint mapping committee is still going on." On Friday evening, a US State Department statement said Pompeo will visit the occupied Palestinian territories on May 13. The statement pointed out that Pompeo will discuss with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the leader of the "Blue and White" party, Speaker of the Knesset "Benny Gantz", regional security issues, and Tel Aviv´s fight against the "Corona" virus. On Wednesday, the American ambassador in "Tel Aviv" David Friedman announced that his country is ready to recognize the latter´s sovereignty over the occupied West Bank settlements, in the coming weeks. In an interview with the Hebrew newspaper "Israel Today", Friedman said that Washington "is not planning to impose any new conditions on this step," but called for the completion of "many operations before it." It is noteworthy that the coalition agreement between the "Likud" and "Blue and White" parties, which Netanyahu and Gantz signed, requires that the implementation of unilateral annexation measures be started by next July.
