Breaking News

Special representative for international negotiations Avi Berkowitz returned to Washington on Wednesday and met with senior advisor Jared Kushner to brief him on his meetings in Israel. Berkowitz met three times with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Alternate Prime Minister and Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gabi Ashkenazi.

Kushner is expected to hold a series of discussions with his team before taking the subject to President Donald Trump. 

A person familiar with the work of the peace team said that it could linger into next week. One reason is that no discussions are scheduled for the weekend when the US will celebrate its Independence Day. Another reason is that a third member of the team, Brian Hook, is currently in Austria to discuss the extension of the Arms Embargo on Iran. Prior to that, Hook visited the Gulf and Jerusalem, and Kushner will wait for his input.

The Israeli government will continue coordinating its actions with the US and hold further discussions on the proper steps forward as it moves toward implementing its plan to extend sovereignty to Judea and Samaria communities, the Prime Minister's Office said on Wednesday.

July 1 has been declared the target to begin the process, and on Wednesday, despite no official decision on the matter, the prime minister's team took pains to stress that it was working hard to meet that objective.

"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to hold talks with the Americans, and will simultaneously hold a meeting with the head of the National Security Council and the top security officials as part of a whole host of discussions on the matter," the Prime Minister's Office said.