White House: We’ll release peace plan when ‘time is right’

After a report in an Arabic language daily said Trump’s peace plan may include recognizing a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, the White House says “nobody knows” the details of the plan.

“As we have not finished our plan, nobody knows what it is. There is constant speculation and guessing about what we are working on and this report is more of the same,” an administration official says. “We are going to continue working on the plan that is designed to benefit both Israelis and Palestinians and will release it when it is done and the time is right.”

According to the London-based Saudi newspaper Asharq al-Awsat, the plan would call for placing Jerusalem’s Old City under “international protection.” The daily said it would also require Palestinians to give up the “right of return” and see small West Bank settlements be “relocated.”

— Eric Cortellessa