Netanyahu–No agreements on settlements in talks with Trump adviser

Netanyahu says ‘honest, authentic’ meeting with Jason Greenblatt failed to yield coordinated policy, but process is ongoing

ed note–All can rest assured that the meeting with Greenblatt was nothing short of an exercise in growling and snarling (behind closed doors) on the part of Netanyahu. He was/is as happy to talk about a ‘peace deal’ with the Palestinians as he was grateful to receive Josephus’ book ‘The Wars of the Jews’ (outlining the destruction of Judea by the Romans in 70 A.D. and how the Jews deserved it for their treachery) given to him by Putin during his recent trip to Moscow.

Netanyahu will play the game. He will smile, shake hands, make ‘peace noises’, but behind closed doors, he will be instructing his thugs on what they are to blow up in America and elsewhere in order to keep this from happening. Rest assured as well that America, Russia, Iran, and other players are keeping very close tabs on Netanyahu’s shenanigans and this time, he is not likely to get away with it as he was on 9/11/2001 and that history may very well see a re-enactment of what took place 2,000 years ago and which was described and outlined in painful detail within the pages of the very same book which Putin personally gave to Netanyahu as a ‘gift’ for Purim.

Times of Israel

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday evening that talks with US President Donald Trump’s Mideast peace envoy, Jason Greenblatt, did not yield an agreement for a coordinated US-Israeli position on West Bank settlements, but described the meeting as “good” and “honest.”

“I have to say that I had good conversations, in-depth ones. I can’t say we finished or came to an agreement,” he told reporters at a press conference.

“We’re in a process, but it’s a process of mutual dialogue, authentic and honest in the positive sense,” Netanyahu said. That process, he added, is “not yet visible to media.”

Netanyahu and Greenblatt met for over five hours on Monday. During the meeting, Trump’s public appeal to the prime minister to rein in settlement building was raised.

Netanyahu sought US approval to build a new West Bank settlement as compensation for the residents of the evacuated outpost of Amona during the talks. He had promised Amona residents a new settlement in exchange for a peaceful evacuation of the illegally built community.

A statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office on Monday said the two men discussed Israeli settlement policy “in the hope of working out an approach that is consistent with the goal of advancing peace and security.”

Greenblatt took to Twitter later on Monday to say that he and Netanyahu “discussed [the] regional situation, how progress towards peace with Palestinians can be made & settlements.”

Greenblatt met with PA President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on Tuesday.

Many on the Israeli right had anticipated that Trump would be more supportive of the settlement enterprise than his predecessor Barack Obama. However, last month, Trump publicly asked the prime minister to “hold back on settlements a little bit.” He also said that Israeli settlements “don’t help” in negotiating a peace agreement.

Netanyahu was seeking Washington’s approval for unfettered building in Jewish neighborhoods of East Jerusalem and within “city limits” of West Bank settlements, Army Radio reported on Tuesday morning, but the Prime Minister’s Office denied this.

The Trump administration’s assent to building in Jewish neighborhoods of Jerusalem annexed by Israel would represent a change in position from the Obama years; the previous administration routinely criticized all building beyond the pre-1967 Green Line. The administration of George W. Bush reached understandings with the government of Ariel Sharon to the effect that Israel would not return to the pre-1967 lines in any permanent peace accord, and recognizing the major settlement blocs, and some analysts believe that the Trump administration might revive such understandings.

Greenblatt’s visit marks the first major attempt by the new US administration to address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, after two months that have seen officials dither on support for the two-state solution, the location of the US Embassy and building in settlements.