Pompeo Heads to Israel for Talks on Land Annexation, Iran
Pompeo Heads to Israel for Talks on Land Annexation, Iran
(Bloomberg) -- U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo landed in Israel on Wednesday to talk about Iran, economic relations with China and Israel’s plan to annex land the Palestinians claim for a state.
Pompeo arrives the day before Israel swears in its first permanent government in more than a year. The official visit defies the near-total halt to travel that’s accompanied the spread of the new coronavirus, suggesting just how urgent the U.S considers the visit to be. David Friedman, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, didn’t attend because he had “mild upper-respiratory symptoms,” though he tested negative for Covid-19, according to a U.S. Embassy spokeswoman.
Pompeo met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the man he’ll be sharing power with, former military chief Benny Gantz. Their deal to form a joint administration includes a provision that allows Israel to move ahead on annexation starting July 1.
In an interview with Israeli media ahead of his visit, Pompeo said that extending Israeli sovereignty in the West Bank was “in the end an Israeli decision” but that the two sides would discuss implementing the U.S. Mideast peace plan unveiled in January, which permits annexation. Palestinian officials have rejected the plan and sharply curtailed relations with the U.S.
As he boarded his plane in Washington on Tuesday, Pompeo was accompanied by Assistant Secretary of Near Eastern Affairs David Schenker and spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus.
Here are the other issues Pompeo planned to discuss, according to the interview and brief remarks he and Netanyahu gave Wednesday morning:
- Combating Iran: Israel continues to strike Iranian military targets in Syria while the U.S. seeks to renew a United Nations arms embargo on the Islamic Republic set to expire this year. The visit also follows an alleged Iranian cyberattack on Israeli water infrastructure.
- Israel’s economic ties to China: Schenker previously warned Israel about its screening of foreign investments and cautioned about the potential for “predatory investment” during the crisis.
- Collaborating to tackle the coronavirus pandemic as both countries relax restrictions on their economies.
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