US envoy: Trump believes Mideast peace possible

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a Women’s Empowerment Panel at the East Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., on Wednesday. (Reuters)

THE DEAD SEA, Jordan: US President Donald Trump’s international envoy told officials at the Arab Summit that Trump believes an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal is possible and would “reverberate positively throughout the region and the world.”
The US Embassy in Jordan said on Wednesday that in his meetings, Jason Greenblatt “focused on how tangible progress could be made toward advancing Middle East peace,” but that a deal could not be imposed.
On the sidelines of the summit, Greenblatt held talks with the foreign ministers of Jordan, Egypt and Qatar, as well as Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Meanwhile, a senior Israeli Cabinet minister said the summit’s stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict reflects “the many challenges faced by the Arab world.”
Intelligence Minister Israel Katz said the Palestinian issue should not be ignored. But he said the Arab world should not lose sight of “strategic regional challenges,” including Iran, Daesh and crises in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Libya.
Katz said that working together on these threats, while improving conditions of the Palestinians, can “lay the groundwork” for progress.