US ambassador to the UN to commence Middle Eastern diplomatic tour
US envoy to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield will begin a diplomatic tour of the Middle East today.
Thomas-Greenfield will meet with Palestinian, Jordanian and Israeli leadership. She will be the first US official to visit Israel since the formation of a new government under Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in June.
Expect Thomas-Greenfield’s time in Israel—which will include meetings with senior Israeli officials and a visit to the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, Yad Vashem—to be primarily symbolic in nature, aiming to reaffirm strong diplomatic ties between Washington and Jerusalem. Expect Thomas-Greenfield’s time with Palestinian leadership, however, to be strategically focused. During her time in the Palestinian cities of Ramallah and East Jerusalem she will meet with Palestinian National Authority (PNA) leaders to discuss practical steps to advance security and prosperity for the Palestinian people and to secure the viability of the two-state solution.
This marks a sharp departure from the administration of Donald Trump, which saw diplomatic support for Palestine drop precipitously. While this initial meeting is unlikely to result in any policy changes, expect it to lay the groundwork for renewed US-PNA dialogue in the future.
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