No understandings with Trump on settlements yet — official

Netanyahu lands in Singapore, where he meets his counterpart for talks on tech cooperation before heading to Australia

Sue Surkes is The Times of Israel's environment reporter

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu inspects an honor guard with Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew at Istana presidential palace on Monday, February 20, 2017 (Haim Zach/GPO)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu inspects an honor guard with Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew at Istana presidential palace on Monday, February 20, 2017 (Haim Zach/GPO)

Israel and the US have yet to come to understandings on the restriction of West Bank settlement building, as requested by US President Donald Trump, a senior Israeli official said Monday.

It is thus unclear whether the government will be able to honor Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s promise to residents of Amona — an illegal West Bank outpost evacuated earlier this month — that Israel will build a new settlement for them, the first in 25 years, the official added.

During a press conference that preceded a meeting between Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington earlier this month, Trump asked Israel to “hold back” on settlement building in the West Bank.

A “mechanism” for discussing settlements with the US “will be set up when the prime minister returns from the Far East,” the official told Israeli reporters on Netanyahu’s plane to Singapore, ahead of the prime minister’s meeting there with his counterpart Lee Hsien Loong, Channel 2 News reported.

Defense Ministry dismantling Amona outpost in the central West Bank on February 6, 2017. (Courtesy Amona Council)
Defense Ministry dismantling Amona outpost in the central West Bank on February 6, 2017. (Courtesy Amona Council)

The official partially confirmed a report Sunday in the Haaretz daily to the effect that Netanyahu took part in a secret summit a year ago in the Jordanian city of Aqaba with then US secretary of state John Kerry, Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Egyptian President Abdel-Fatah el-Sissi.

The report said that at that meeting, Netanyahu rejected a regional peace plan that would have renewed negotiations toward a two-state solution and guaranteed recognition of Israel as a Jewish state, saying he would not be able to get approval from his hawkish coalition.

The official described the report as “not entirely accurate,” suggesting that while the summit did indeed take place, the details were misreported.

“We have several initiatives. The key is active partnership with Arab states with which we have relations,” he said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew at Istana presidential palace (Haim Zach/GPO)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew at Istana presidential palace (Haim Zach/GPO)

Netanyahu is the first Israeli prime minister to come to Singapore since Yitzhak Rabin visited on an unofficial visit in 1993. Upon his arrival Sunday, he and his wife, Sara, were welcomed by an honor guard at the Istana palace by Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

After the official welcome, Netanyahu met with Singapore’s President Tony Tan Keng Yam and government ministers, including National Security Minister Teo Chee Hean. They discussed strengthening cooperation between the two countries, particularly in technology, to overcome shared challenges, according to a readout from the Prime Minister’s Office. They also discussed joint efforts to bolster technology in African states.

Tan told Netanyahu that both countries began as fledgling states with few natural resources and prospered through technological innovation. Netanyahu invited Tan to Israel and the two discussed the possibility of direct flights from Israel to Singapore.

During last year’s visit to Israel by Lee — the first by a Singaporean PM — the two leaders signed a cooperation agreement.

Meetings in Jerusalem focused on increasing cooperation on security and trade, among other economic matters, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office at the time.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong shake hands during a meeting at the Prime Minister office in Jerusalem on April 19, 2016. (Haim Zach / GPO)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong shake hands during a meeting at the Prime Minister office in Jerusalem on April 19, 2016. (Haim Zach / GPO)

Singapore and Israel established diplomatic relations in 1969, several years after Singapore’s founding. The small country is sandwiched between Malaysia and Indonesia, neither of which have diplomatic relations with Israel.

Two years ago, President Reuven Rivlin visited the country for the funeral of Lee Kuan Yew, its first prime minister.

Netanyahu heads to Australia later this week, where he will meet with Governor-General Peter Cosgrove and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, with whom he is set to hold a joint press conference.

Next month, the prime minister is due to visit China.

Raphael Ahren and Raoul Wootliff contributed to this report.

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