WASHINGTON _ President Donald Trump gave Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not one, but two political gifts this week: recognition of Israeli control over the Golan Heights and a delay in the rollout of his administration's long-awaited Middle East peace plan.
U.S. and Israeli officials told McClatchy they did not expect Trump to raise the administration's proposals for peace with the Palestinians _ largely complete, but not yet revealed to the public nor privately shared with Netanyahu _ in Monday's meeting at the White House, nor any other time before Israel's general elections on April 9.
That in and of itself is a favor to the prime minister. Politicians running to Netanyahu's right are calling on the Trump administration to release its peace plan before the Israeli elections, hoping its contents become the subject of a referendum on the future of the peace process.
