US Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt, who announced at the start of the month that he would be resigning, is due to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday after landing in Israel Thursday evening.
The reason for the surprise visit is so Greenblatt and Netanyahu can discuss an appropriate time for US President Donald Trump to unveil his peace plan, given the uncertain political picture in Israel following this week's election.
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Greenblatt, one of the architects of the "deal of the century," announced some two weeks ago that he intended to resign. He added that if circumstances demanded it, he would help roll out the plan.
Officially, Greenblatt is in Israel to attend of the wedding of the daughter of US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman. However, sources believe that Greenblatt and Netanyahu plan to discuss the possibility of introducing the Trump administration's plan sometime in the next few days.
Heading up to the election, Netanyahu said that Trump and his staff might not wait until a new Israeli government was in place before announcing the "deal of the century," and that the plan would be made public right after the Knesset election. Thus far, the Trump administration has not confirmed that report.
As of Thursday evening, Greenblatt had no meetings scheduled for his Israel visit, other than the planned one with Netanyahu.
The Blue and White party said in response to reports that Greenblatt and Netanyahu would be meeting on Friday that "Gantz would be happy to meet with any representative of the American administration, if he were asked to."
Political officials think that if the Trump peace plan is announced within the next few days, it could help Netanyahu in his fight to be the one who assembles the next government, since he is seen as having close ties with Trump and as someone who can refuse any demands of the plan that Israel sees as problematic.
