Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked
"I think that the gap between the Palestinians and the Israelis is much too big to be bridged," she said in an English-language interview on stage at the Jerusalem Post diplomatic conference.
Comment: She's actually correct. The Israelis are simply unwilling to concede anything. The continued existence of their state requires that they never find a solution - because their state is built upon anti-democratic principles, ethnic cleansing and theft. That's the real reason all previous efforts have failed: the Israelis only ever put up a pretense of negotiating with no intention of finding a solution the Palestinians would find acceptable.
She added: "I think personally it's a waste of time. Although I want peace like anyone else, I think I'm just more realistic. And I know that in the current future, it is impossible."
In a possible concession to diplomatic niceties, she added, "But let's wait and see what [the Trump administration] will offer."
Trump was set to hold a meeting with top advisers this week to review his administration's peace plan and discuss the timing for its release, according to a television report on Sunday.
The meeting is to be attended by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, National Security Adviser John Bolton, Trump's senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner, as well as Middle East peace envoy Jason Greenblatt, the Channel 10 report said. US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman traveled to Washington, DC, to attend the meeting as well.
US officials told the news channel that Trump wants to see the plan rolled out by February, but his advisers favored taking a more cautious approach, in light of the political crisis that engulfed Israel over the past week, and the razor-thin 61-seat parliamentary majority that the Netanyahu government now holds.
Although the Trump administration has been touting its peace plan for months, details of it have been scant, and the Palestinians have vowed not to cooperate with US efforts.
The report came as Netanyahu's government appeared on brink of collapse earlier this week.
The coalition crisis was sparked by the resignation of Avigdor Liberman as defense minister last week, in response to the ceasefire deal that ended a military flareup between Israel and Palestinian terror groups in the Gaza Strip.
Over the weekend, Hadashot news reported there was growing concern in the Prime Minister's Office that the release of the Trump peace plan could hurt the ruling Likud party's electoral prospects in the upcoming national elections.
Though the specific details of the plan have been closely guarded by the US, the TV report said Netanyahu's camp was planning to reach out to the White House in an effort to push back the publication of the proposal until after elections.
Hadashot said Kushner has privately indicated in the past that the plan's release might be postponed if Israel was embroiled in an election campaign.
Netanyahu's office told the network in response to the report that the prime minister's sole concern vis-a-vis the US peace plan is Israel's security.
"The prime minister doesn't know when the American plan will be presented, and when it is, the only factor he will take into consideration is the nation's interests, first and foremost the security of Israel," his office said.
Trump has yet to reveal a date for the announcement of his peace plan but said during a meeting with Netanyahu in September he hoped to release it by early next year.
In addition to the increasing political uncertainty in Israel, the White House must also factor in how the peace plan will be received by the Palestinian Authority, whose president, Mahmoud Abbas, has boycotted the Trump administration since its recognition last December of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital and has vowed to oppose the "deal of the century."
“Press statement in rejection of all forms of normalization with the occupation” On October 26, Hamas Movement’s website carried the following press statement: “In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. This is a press statement issued by the Islamic Resistance Movement – Hamas. The Islamic Resistance Movement – Hamas reiterates its rejection of all forms of normalization with the Israeli occupation on all levels, due to the dangerous repercussions this will have on the Palestinian people and their historical rights to their territories and homeland, and on the unity and cohesion of the Umma and its people, which oppose any such [normalization] policies that are incoherent with the mood of the populations of the Arab and Islamic nation, who support the Palestinian rights and just cause. Likewise, the Movement condemns the fast pace at which normalization is proceeding with the Israeli entity.
“This is especially due to the fact that the occupation’s crimes and daily violations are intensifying against our Palestinian people and their sanctities, through the Judaization of Jerusalem, the expansion of the settlement activities in the West Bank, the ongoing siege on Gaza and the cold-blooded killing of the unarmed civilians and children. And it considers that such normalization constitutes an encouragement and cover to the Zionist enemy, so that it can proceed with its crimes and violations against the Palestinian people, but also a dagger in these people’s backs and a relinquishing of them and their just cause. In this context, Hamas Movement condemns the visits of and meetings with Israeli politicians and athletes in some Arab countries, such as Qatar and the Emirates, and fiercely condemns the meeting held by the leader of Zionist criminality Netanyahu in Oman.
“Indeed, this will carry dangerous repercussions on our Palestinian people and their just cause, which is why the Movement calls on the brothers in the latter states to support the Palestinian people, reinforce their resilience in their land, and proceed with the boycott and isolation of the Zionist entity, which is posing a threat to Palestine and the entire region. [Signed by] The Islamic Resistance Movement – Hamas. [Dated] Friday 17 Safar, 1440H – October 26, 2018CE.”