In Israel, Pompeo discusses West Bank and coronavirus with Netanyahu
14 May, 2020
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke on Wednesday of the complexities of Israel's planned de facto annexation of the occupied West Bank, saying following talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the approach must be done in accordance with a US peace plan.
During a one-day check out to Israel, Pompeo required another swipe at China over what he said was Beijing's insufficient transparency about the outbreak of the brand new coronavirus in Wuhan overdue this past year. China rejects allegations by US President Donald Trump's administration that it withheld information about the virus.
Pompeo held talks with Netanyahu and his political rival turned designated coalition spouse Benny Gantz, a time before the inauguration of their latest government.
The brand new government plans in July to commence debating extending sovereignty to Israeli settlements and the strategic Jordan Valley in the West Bank, territory Israel captured in a 1967 war and that Palestinians look for a future state.
Within an interview with the Israel Hayom newspaper, where he was quoted in Hebrew, Pompeo said the West Bank territorial moves were an Israeli decision that Netanyahu and Gantz have the right to make.
But Pompeo noted the problem was complex and required coordination with Washington, which includes formed a joint staff with Israel to map out new territorial lines in the West Bank relative to Trump's Middle East plan.
He said he and the Israeli leaders as well talked "about a great many other issues linked to it - how exactly to deal with all parties involved, and how to ensure the move is performed properly" under Trump's plan.
But showing up to dismiss reports that annexation talks were the purpose of Pompeo's visit, a senior State Department official said: "I do think that we have to dispel the notion that we flew halfway around the world to talk about annexation."
The Palestinians have rejected Trump's plan, under that your vast majority of West Bank settlements would be incorporated into "contiguous Israeli territory".
The program envisages a Palestinian state under near-complete Israeli security control, produced up of stretches of terrain in the West Bank, plus the Gaza Strip on the Mediterranean coast and two expanses of territory in Israel's southern Negev desert.
In televised remarks on Wednesday night, President Mahmoud Abbas said the Palestinians would review their peace accords with Israel and agreements with america should Israel annex West Bank land.
"We will hold the American and Israeli governments responsible for all the consequences," Abbas said.
Violence
The Palestinians deem Israel's settlements illegal under international law, as do most world powers. Israel and the Trump administration dispute that look at.
With Palestinian leaders warning that annexation could imperil the already limited cooperation between the sides, there's been a spike in violence in the West Bank.
On Wednesday, Israeli forces killed a Palestinian teenager throughout a raid near the city of Hebron, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. The Israeli military explained Palestinians got thrown rocks and fire-bombs at the soldiers, slightly injuring one of them.
A working day earlier, a Palestinian rock-thrower killed an Israeli soldier who was taking part in an arrest raid near Jenin city.
The Palestinians have tried to rally European states to oppose any Israeli annexation, as France pushes for europe to consider punitive monetary measures should Israel declare sovereignty in the West Bank.
Arab countries have cautioned against Israeli annexation, including Jordan and Egypt, Israel's neighbors and the sole two Arab countries to sign peace treaties with it.
Friction over China
Trump and his senior officials contain engaged in a war of words with China more than the coronavirus crisis and Pompeo did as a result again on Wednesday.
Addressing Netanyahu in the beginning of their three-hour meeting, Pompeo said: "You're an excellent partner, you share information - unlike various other countries that try to obfuscate and hide that info - and we'll speak about that country, too."
Pompeo didn't name China and didn't give specific examples of Israeli cooperation in the fight coronavirus.
Israeli organization ties with China are an irritant in Netanyahu's usually close relationship with the Trump administration.
AMERICA has previously cautioned Israel against potential security threats from Chinese investment in its economy, prompting the Netanyahu government to create a committee previous October to vet such projects.
US State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus briefly summed up the Pompeo-Netanyahu meeting as a discussion of "our nations' ongoing efforts to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic and counter Iran's destabilizing influence in the region, in addition to the steadfast US commitment to Israel's security."
Trump's pro-Israel moves have already been widely seen due to an attempt to bolster his appeal to evangelical Christian voters, an important portion of his political basic that he's counting on to greatly help him win re-election found in November.
Source: www.thejakartapost.com