Trump envoy meets Netanyahu in Israel

A statement from the Israeli leader's office said Jason Greenblatt "reaffirmed President Trump's commitment to Israel's security and to the effort to help Israelis and Palestinians achieve a lasting peace through direct negotiations."

Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians have been frozen since 2014 and the Palestinians have been concerned at the more favorable approach shown by Washington toward Netanyahu since Trump came to office in January.

The statement added that during a conversation lasting more than five hours, Netanyahu and Greenblatt discussed Israel's settlement building.

One of the most heated issues between Israel and the Palestinians is Israel's building of settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, territory the Palestinians want for their own future state along with the Gaza Strip.

On Friday, Trump spoke to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and invited him to the White House. It was the first phone call between the two leaders since Trump took office. Greenblatt is set to meet Abbas in the West Bank on Tuesday.

The Israeli statement added that "Greenblatt stressed how important enabling the growth of the Palestinian economy and improving the quality of life for Palestinians are to President Trump."

Before taking office, Trump named Greenblatt, his company's top lawyer, as his special negotiator for trade deals and other talks and his adviser to the Middle East and special representative for international negotiations.

Since the inauguration of Trump in January, the Israeli regime, which sees in him a stronger supporter than Obama, has stepped up its construction of settler units on occupied Palestinian land.

Such construction constitutes a blatant violation of international law. The Geneva Conventions ban construction on occupied land. About 600,000 Israelis live in over 230 illegal settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East Jerusalem al-Quds.


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