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Trump’s envoy surprises Israelis, Palestinians

While the Israeli side was disappointed by the US demands to curb settlement construction, the Palestinian side was pleasantly surprised by the approach of President Donald Trump’s envoy Jason Greenblatt.
Jason Greenblatt (L), U.S. President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy meets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Prime Ministerís Office in Jerusalem March 13, 2017. Picture taken March 13, 2017. Courtesy Matty Stern/U.S. Embassy Tel Aviv/Handout via REUTERS      ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. EDITORIAL USE ONLY - RTX319TT
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Alarm bells went off last week in Education Minister Naftali Bennet’s right-wing HaBayit HaYehudi party during Jason Greenblatt’s March 13-16 visit. The Israeli right expected the US president’s representative for international negotiations to be a political messiah that would greenlight for the government the continuation of its settlement policy and its de facto annexation policies in Area C.

According to a senior Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) official with direct access to Prime Minister (and Foreign Minister) Benjamin Netanyahu, Greenblatt’s rhetoric was in fact very promising. Greenblatt pushed all the right buttons and used all the right terms, including references to the “unshakable alliance” between the two countries, “a new page in the US-Israeli relationship,” “Israel’s security being of paramount interest to the United States,” “Israel the Jewish state,” etc.

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