Axius quoted a senior U.S. official wednesday, May 13, 2020, as saying that the Trump administration does not consider the July 1 deadline for the start of the process of annexing parts of the West Bank as a date "engraved on the rock."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking the U.S. "green light" before taking any steps to annex part or all of the occupied Palestinian territories, including all Israeli settlements in the occupied territories, parts of Area C and the Jordan Valley, which is the agricultural lifeline for Palestinians.
The coalition agreement that allowed Netanyahu to form a new cabinet requires Netanyahu to reach a "understanding with the Trump administration" on the annexation to be voted on either in the cabinet or in the Knesset on July 1, but only after the administration of President Donald Trump has fully agreed on the annexation and its timing.
For his part, Palestinian Prime Minister Dr. Mohammed Shtiya on Tuesday, May 12, 2020 during his meeting at a virtual seminar organized by the Middle East Institute in Washington, said that annexation is the biggest challenge for the Palestinian National Authority, especially since this annexation includes the annexation of The annexation of Jerusalem, the annexation of Area C, and now the annexation of the Jordan Valley, which means the evaporation of the hope of a two-state solution that does not threaten us alone, but threatens Jordan, when it cancels the two-state solution and threatens to annex the Jordan, it threatens Jordan, and it threatens the region and contradicts international legitimacy and obligations."
"The Palestinian leadership, with the participation of all factions of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Hamas and Islamic Jihad, will meet next Saturday (May 16, 2020) and will take decisive decisions on the suspension of coordination agreements with Israel, including security coordination, as part of a response," Hesaid. "We will not wait for Israel to make the annexation process, but the mere announcement of its schedule will prompt us to take our steps, since we cannot remain an authority without authority," he said.
Pompeo met in Jerusalem on Wednesday with Netanyahu, new army minister Benny Gants and new Foreign Minister Gaby Ashkenazi.
Pompeo did not commit himself to the timing of the annexation in an interview with Israel Hayoum, a pro-Netanyahu newspaper.
According to Axios, Pompeo is not expected to make any commitments on the timing of the annexation while in Israel, either in public statements or behind closed doors, but will wait until he returns to Washington.
For its part, the Trump administration continues to warn the Palestinians that their decision to boycott the talks will not work and will not be in their favor.
Local media reported last week that the Americans had informed the Palestinian leadership that "if the Palestinians continue to refuse to engage and do not come to the table ( negotiations), this may have negative consequences for them, and it will make our decisions on annexation much easier."
The Palestinians and most of the world reject Trump´s settlement plan, known as the Deal of the Century, and refuse to accept the administration as an honest broker in the negotiations.
