President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy has spent the week shuttling between Jerusalem, Ramallah and the Jordanian capital Amman on his first official visit to the region, pursuing quiet diplomacy and avoiding controversy. Before landing in Israel, he posted a picture of his prayer shawl and other religious accoutrements. Netanyahu and Greenblatt will meet for more talks later on Thursday, before the US envoy returns to Washington. "Of course, this will help Israel after a period of many years during which we were not involved in such processes." The Obama administration said Israel's settlement building was jeopardizing peace efforts, and Abbas has said they must stop before negotiations can resume.

Source: Egypt Independent March 16, 2017 11:26 UTC