ADThe Trump administration took several steps in recent years that angered the Palestinians. A Palestinian official said that President Mahmoud Abbas has rejected overtures from mediators in recent weeks to arrange a phone call with Trump. In the run-up to the March 2 vote, Netanyahu has called for annexing the Jordan Valley and Jewish settlements across the West Bank. ADAnnexing Israel’s settlements in the occupied West Bank would appeal to Netanyahu’s hard-line nationalist supporters, but would torpedo the viability of an independent Palestinian state and likely infuriate neighboring Jordan. ADIsrael and Jordan signed a peace treaty in 1994, the second between Israel and its Arab neighbors after Egypt.

Source: Washington Post January 27, 2020 11:48 UTC