Top settler leader says US plan shows Trump ‘not a friend of Israel’

A top settler leader says US President Donald Trump and his adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner have shown through their peace proposal that “they are not friends of the State of Israel.”

Amid reports that Washington has put the breaks on swift annexation in the West Bank, David Elhayani, head of the Yesha Council of West Bank mayors, tells the Haaretz newspaper: “Trump and Kushner had shown through the proposal that they are not friends of the State of Israel and do not consider the security and settlement interests of the State of Israel.”

Elhayani and other West Bank mayors have been increasingly critical of the Trump plan in recent days due to it including the formation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank if Palestinians meet certain strict requirements (which they have already rejected) including dismantling Hamas, recognizing Israel as a Jewish state and giving up the so-called right of return.