The Palestinian Authority has officially expressed its optimism over President Donald Trump’s delegation’s planned visit to the region this month, in a new attempt to resuscitate Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations.
But PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ adviser on foreign affairs Nabil Sha’ath has told the official Voice of Palestine radio on Thursday that there are no great expectations in Ramallah about the outcome of this visit.
In the interview, Sha’ath attributed his lack of optimism to the fact that President Trump would not be able to give any special notice to the two-state solution or to the Palestinians’ right to Jerusalem because his attention these days is focused on US domestic problems and international issues such as Iran, Venezuela and North Korea.
The American delegation is scheduled to arrive in the region at the end of August, and will include US peace envoy Jared Kushner, US Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt, and deputy national security adviser Dina Powell. They will meet with PA and Israeli officials, but will also meet with officials in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the UAE, Egypt, and Qatar.