Pompeo clarifies comments that peace plan could be seen as biased toward Israel
US secretary says it’s ‘simply not true’ that proposal is one-sided; those who think it is don’t know ‘the true facts of what is contained in the plan’
WASHINGTON — US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday clarified comments he shared with Jewish leaders, saying that it was an “inaccurate” perception that the Trump administration’s peace proposal could be seen as one-sided toward Israel.
The Washington Post reported Sunday on a recording obtained from an off-the-record meeting last week between Pompeo and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.
“I get why people think this is going to be a deal that only the Israelis could love,” he said in those remarks. “I understand the perception of that. I hope everyone will just give the space to listen and let it settle in a little bit.”
On Monday, in an interview with the Sinclair Broadcast Group, he clarified those statements.
“I can see how someone might be concerned that a plan that this administration put forward might, without knowing the true facts of what is contained in the plan, they might perceive that it was going to be fundamentally one-sided,” Pompeo told Sinclair. “And I was articulating that there because it’s just simply not true.”
The plan, which has yet to be revealed, has been formulated by a team led by Jared Kushner, a top adviser to President Donald Trump and his Jewish son-in-law.
“I think there’ll be things in this plan that lots of people like, and I am confident, as I said — I think it was quoted in that paper as well — there’ll be something in there that everyone will find I’m concerned with,” Pompeo told Sinclar. “Our idea is to present a vision and to continue to work towards a very, very difficult situation’s conclusion.”
However, Pompeo did not walk back the skepticism he showed in the original remarks, where he gave a somber assessment of the chances of plan, acknowledging that parts of it might be “unexecutable,” could fail, or may be dismissed out of hand by either the Israelis or the Palestinians.
The plan has repeatedly been postponed and Pompeo’s remarks were made a day before the collapse of Israeli coalition negotiations and a move to fresh elections in September, something that is widely expected to set back the launch of the plan even further.
Even then Pompeo noted, “This has taken us longer to roll out our plan than I had originally thought it might — to put it lightly.”
After the publication of the remarks on Sunday, US President Donald Trump was asked about Pompeo’s skepticism, telling reporters outside the White House: “He may be right.”
“When Mike says that, I understand when he says that, because most people think it can’t be done. I think it probably can. But, as I say often, we’ll see what happens,” Trump said, adding that he was unhappy with the situation in Israel, which he called “messed up.”
https://www.timesofisrael.com/pompeo-walks-back-comments-that-peace-plan-could-be-biased-toward-israel/