The US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman announced the United States' readiness to recognize Israeli sovereignty in the Jordan Valley and West Bank settlements in the coming weeks.
In an interview with the newspaper "Israel Today" on the occasion of the second anniversary of the transfer of the American embassy to occupied Jerusalem, Friedman said that Washington would not impose any conditions on Tel Aviv for this recognition, stressing that the most important element is the declaration of sovereignty by the Israeli government.
He added that Washington would recognize Israel's sovereignty over the areas stipulated in President Donald Trump's peace plan upon the completion of the mapping, the Tel Aviv government agreed to freeze settlement in Area C, and the Israeli prime minister’s agreement to negotiate with the Palestinians on the basis of the US peace plan.
On whether the Trump administration will pressure Israel to recognize a Palestinian state, the US diplomat stressed that the only condition on this issue is that the Israeli prime minister, regardless of who it may be, agree to negotiate with the Palestinians in good faith for a period of four years.
In conjunction with Friedman's statements, it was announced today, Wednesday, that the Israeli Defense Minister Natali Bennett had approved the construction of 1,100 new settlement units in the Efrat settlement south of Bethlehem in the West Bank.
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A Palestinian Message For
its part, the Palestinian leadership confirmed that it had informed the international parties - including the US and Israeli governments - that they would not stand idly by if Israel announced the annexation of any part of the Palestinian territories.
The Authority also warned Israel that if it annexed any part of the West Bank, it would sever all ties with it.
This comes at a time when the new Israeli government is seeking to annex the Jordan Valley and settlements in the West Bank with an American green light, which will make it impossible to establish a contiguous and sovereign Palestinian state.