US President Donald Trump will deliver a "big announcement" on Israel's sovereignty initiative, senior presidential adviser Kellyanne Conway told reporters on Wednesday night as White House officials met earlier in the day to discuss the nature and scope of Israel's sovereignty bid in parts of Judea and Samaria and the Jordan Valley.
Sources familiar with the details of the meeting told Israel Hayom that additional meetings will be held in the coming days.
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"There are conversations being had," Conway told reporters at the White House. "Obviously, the president will have an announcement. He's talked about this in the past and I'll leave it to him to give you a big announcement."
At this stage of the deliberations, which as stated were still ongoing, Trump's peace team doesn't intend to stop Israel from implementing its sovereignty plan. That is to say, it appears that from the administration's perspective, the historic initiative can commence. With that, at this stage it still isn't clear what the administration thinks should be the scope of the initiative and whether it will entail goodwill gestures to the Palestinians or other steps meant to temper the criticism from Arab counties, specifically Jordan.
Ahead of the decisive discussions at the White House, Republican lawmakers have voiced their strong support for the Israeli endeavor. Over the past 24 hours, many prominent Trump-supporting politicians and media pundits have come out in favor of the sovereignty initiative and its immediate implementation.
Nikki Haley, the former US ambassador to the United Nations, and one of the more popular figures in the Republican party, wrote on Twitter: "The Trump peace plan smartly allows for both Israeli sovereignty over territories essential to its security and an independent Palestinian state. The plan should move forward. Thank you to the members of Congress who are standing up for Israel, peace, and security."
The Trump peace plan smartly allows for both Israeli sovereignty over territories essential to its security and an independent Palestinian state. The plan should move forward. Thank you to the members of Congress who are standing up for Israel, peace, and security.
— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) June 23, 2020
Eight senior Republican senators, meanwhile, wrote a letter to Trump on Tuesday to express their support for the implementation of the administration's Mideast peace plan released earlier this year, "including the extension of Israeli civil law into Israeli communities and areas critical for Israel's security such as the Jordan Valley."
The letter also slammed US support under the Obama administration for UN Security Council Resolution 2334 in December 2016 that denounces Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria.
The senators praised Trump for taking "systematic steps to begin rendering UNSCR 2334 null and void," such as recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital and moving the US embassy there from Tel Aviv; recognizing Israeli control over the Golan Heights in March 2019; and rejecting "the position that all Israeli communities beyond the June 1967 lines are illegal under international law."
The letter came as House Republicans on Monday signed their own letter in support of Israel's sovereignty bid.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, meanwhile, told the Security Council on Wednesday that Israel should abandon its sovereignty plans, saying it "would constitute a most serious violation of international law, grievously harm the prospect of a two-state solution, and undercut the possibilities of a renewal of negotiations."
The head of the Arab League warned that the initiative would inflame tensions and endanger peace in the Middle East, and could ignite "a religious war in and beyond our region."
Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon told the council that "should Israel decide to extend its sovereignty, it would be doing so with respect to areas over which it has always maintained a legitimate historical and legal claim."
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