A top official in US President Donald Trump's administration said Monday that the US will not hold back Israel's plan to announce sovereignty in the Jordan Valley and settlements in Judea and Samaria, as it was a decision to be made "[only] by Israeli leaders."
Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism Elan Carr made the comment at a conference for Diaspora Jewry hosted by the weekly Makor Rishon newspaper.
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"One thing may delay applying sovereignty, and that is a decision by Israel's leaders," Carr told Makor Rishon.
"We made it clear, [that] when to annex, how to do it, and how much, is a decision of the prime minister and his partner [Defense Minister] Benny Gantz. They need to make a decision, we said we're willing to recognize the State of Israel's sovereignty in those territories," he added.
Addressing growing concern over rising anti-Semitism in the US and around the world, Carr said that the Trump administration believed that "anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism," and made the point that synagogues were being attacked during the US riots and that the vandals had painted anti-Israel messages on their walls.
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Carr added that in his opinion, the widespread riots and protests over the death of George Floyd would not affect Israel's decision to apply Israeli law to the Jordan Valley and settlements in Judea and Samaria.
The envoy's remarks echoed those made by several senior American officials, including US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who said pushing ahead with the plan to apply sovereignty to large parts of Judea and Samaria and the Jordan Valley will ultimately be the Israeli government's to make.
This article was originally published by i24NEWS.
