US: No green light given to Israel to apply sovereignty

State Department says historic visit to Samaria was not intended as green light for sovereignty plan.

Arutz Sheva Staff , Nov 23 , 2020 10:09 AM

 

Pompeo and Netanyahu

Pompeo and Netanyahu

Ron Przysucha / U.S. State Department

The US has not green lighted plans by Israel to apply sovereignty over parts of Judea and Samaria, a senior State Department official said Sunday, pushing back on claims the Trump administration is encouraging Israel to extend its law over at least some Israeli communities beyond the Green Line.

Last week, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made a historic visit to the Israeli winery at Psagot, north of Jerusalem. It was the first-ever visit by a senior US official to an Israeli community in Judea and Samaria.

During the visit, Pompeo declared that the US recognized Israeli goods from Judea and Samaria as being “Made in Israel”.

On Sunday, however, a senior State Department official told reporters that Pompeo’s visit was not intended as a green light to Jerusalem to move forward with plans to apply sovereignty over parts of Judea and Samaria.

“The Israelis have an agreement with the Emiratis that there is not going to be annexation, right, that they have suspended plans for an annexation.”

The official said the Trump administration was working to promote the signing of additional peace treaties between Israel and moderate Arab and Muslim countries, adding that Israel had committed not to apply sovereignty in the immediate future.

“As you know, we were involved in the Abraham Accords, we support the Abraham Accords, and we would expect and believe that the Israelis and the Emiratis are enjoying these accords.”

“I went to a trilateral with the Bahrainis also sitting here as the – the Abraham Accords, and they advocated for a warm peace. I do not anticipate that the Israelis would – we would not, in any event, encourage the Israelis to break elements of their commitments to the Emiratis.”


Netanyahu, Mossad chief reportedly visited Saudi Arabia with Pompeo

The plane returned to Israel after only a few hours.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/REUTERS)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman
(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/REUTERS)
An executive plane used in the past by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took off from Ben-Gurion Airport to Saudi Arabia on Sunday as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, sparking reports that Netanyahu might have traveled to Saudi Arabia.

The plane returned to Israel after only a few hours.

Avi Scharf of the Haaretz newspaper published aviation tracking data showing that a business jet had made a brief trip from Tel Aviv to Neom, on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast, where Bin Salman and Pompeo had a scheduled meeting on Sunday.
Israeli media reported that sources in the government stated that Netanyahu and Mossad chief Yossi Cohen were on the flight and met with Pompeo and bin Salman, possibly to discuss normalization or issues concerning Iran.

Pompeo has tried to coax the Gulf powerhouse to follow its neighbors, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, in establishing formal relations with Israel – a rapprochement built largely on shared concerns about Iran.
Riyadh has so far declined to normalize ties with Jerusalem, saying Palestinian statehood goals should be addressed first. But the Saudis have allowed Israeli airliners to overfly their territory to newly available Gulf destinations as well as to Asia.
The meeting would have taken place around the same time as the coronavirus cabinet meeting was expected to take place. The Prime Minister’s Office released a statement explaining that the meeting would be pushed off because ministers Yizhar Shay and Zeev Elkin needed more time to work on their digital surveillance program.

However, in an interview with N12 on Sunday, Shay claimed that he had no idea why the meeting was delayed.

N12 reported that sources familiar with the details say that this message was a kind of cover up so that there would be no suspicion of the cancellation of the cabinet meeting.

“There are increasing signs of a diplomatic rapprochement between Israel and Saudi Arabia,” said former Mossad chief Danny Yatom on Twitter. “If and when a peace agreement is signed between the countries, it will be a strategic geopolitical event that will greatly advance Israel’s interest in the region.”

Netanyahu’s office said it had no comment on the reports.

The plane returned to Israel after only a few hous.

https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/netanyahu-mossad-chief-may-have-visited-saudi-arabia-alongside-pompeo-649959?fbclid=IwAR1WIO5TvX1tL9nChp8hfRdzp3V5OeVgXiMj5ylegOEwQFqObEcR9i5ZrM4


Explosives placed by terrorists near Jerusalem over weekend

“The two successful operations over the weekend testify to the determination of the officers, who will continue to do everything in their power to arrest the terrorists and bring them to justice.”

https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/explosives-placed-by-terrorists-near-jerusalem-over-weekend-649860?fbclid=IwAR2-r_lz59aJWeURJCs8qcdYF5wVvs9F74_-_8CO-iMKstGCvSXqMctDS7w

Border Police arrest suspects who placed explosives near Qalandiya Crossing, Nov. 22, 2020. (Credit: Security cameras/Israel Police spokesperson)

Terrorists placed explosives by the Qalandiya Crossing north of Jerusalem and by Rachel’s Tomb on Friday night, according to the Border Police.

Two suspects arrived at the crossing, placed two explosives next to the crossing and ran away from the scene. One of the explosives detonated next to a car passing through the crossing, without causing damage or injuries.
Border Police in the area conducted searches and succeeded in finding and arresting the suspects, two minors, in a nearby store. While leaving the area, the police were confronted by dozens of Palestinians who threw stones at them. The police forces used riot dispersal methods; the incident ended without any injuries.
Additionally, a lookout saw a suspect place an explosive near the Rachel’s Tomb complex and run away from the scene. Border Police crossed the safety barrier and succeeded in finding and arresting the suspect, an 18-year-old from Bethlehem. The explosive did not detonate.
“Border Police are working in the Jerusalem Envelope area to strengthen deterrence and thwart terrorism, while increasing the deployment of forces in sensitive places where there have been recent attempts to harm civilians and security forces,” it said in a press release. “The two successful operations over the weekend testify to the determination of the officers, who will continue to do everything in their power to arrest the terrorists and bring them to justice.”