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.”
