Friedman: 'No demands in exchange for embassy move'
US Ambassador Friedman says to American Jewish Congress heads, 'At some point Israel has to make a decision' regarding 'half million or so Palestinians in West Bank.'
The United States Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, said in a conversation with the heads of the American Jewish Congress that "there is not and there never was any demand made of Israel in exchange for the United States Embassy move," the Jewish Insider reported Wednesday.
Referring to US President Donald Trump's statement that Israel will pay a "higher price" for moving the embassy to Jerusalem, the ambassador said, "The President feels that if the parties are lucky enough to be sitting in a room and making progress, he might say to the Israelis, ‘Look, can you do a little bit more? Look what we did for you. Is there’s something more that you could do?’ It’s not that he has something specific in mind."
With regard to the peace plan—Trump's "deal of the century"—Friedman said the date for its UN presentation has yet to be set.
"We haven't scheduled a date yet. I'm hesitant to say it would happen within a month because it has shifted several times as we continue to listen and talk with people. So it’s not imminent. There are some rumors that we might present something at the UN (General Assembly). It’s not going to happen," Friedman explained.
“Having said that, Israel has two and a half million or so Palestinians in the West Bank, and at some point, they’re going to have to make a call. You have to either let them establish an independent state or to absorb them. We’d like to help them make the right decision—the right decision for them and the Palestinians—during the Trump Administration because it’s a good environment right now for them to be making progress on this. If they can’t, they can’t, but we’re not giving up," the ambassador added.
Speaking about Trumps popularity in Israel, Friedman said, "President Trump has the highest popularity rating in Israel than in any other country in the world."
"In my opinion, if his popularity in the US was as in Israel, the Democrats wouldn't have needed to choose a candidate (for the elections in 2020)," he concluded.
