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A statement from
the Israeli leader's office said Jason Greenblatt "reaffirmed
President Trump's commitment to Israel's security and to the
effort to help Israelis and Palestinians achieve a lasting peace
through direct negotiations."
Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians have been frozen
since 2014 and the Palestinians have been concerned at the more
favorable approach shown by Washington toward Netanyahu since
Trump came to office in January.
The statement added that during a conversation lasting more than
five hours, Netanyahu and Greenblatt discussed Israel's
settlement building "with the hope of reaching a formula that
will aim to promote peace and security."
One of the most heated issues between Israel and the
Palestinians is Israel's building of settlements in the occupied
West Bank and East Jerusalem, territory the Palestinians want
for their own future state along with the Gaza Strip.
On Friday, Trump spoke to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas
and invited him to the White House. It was the first phone call
between the two leaders since Trump took office. Greenblatt is
set to meet Abbas in the West Bank on Tuesday.
The Israeli statement added that "Greenblatt stressed how
important enabling the growth of the Palestinian economy and
improving the quality of life for Palestinians are to President
Trump."
Before taking office, Trump named Greenblatt, his company's top
lawyer, as his special negotiator for trade deals and other
talks and his adviser to the Middle East and special
representative for international negotiations.
(This version of the story was refiled to remove extraneous word
in paragraph 1)
(Writing by Ori Lewis; Editing by Peter Cooney)
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