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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsUnveiling of Trump's Israeli-Palestinian peace plan to be delayed by months
JERUSALEM National security adviser John Bolton on Sunday toured the tunnels beneath the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City, drawing criticism from Palestinian leadership as the U.S. announced another delay in the release of a much-anticipated Israeli-Palestinian peace plan.
The tour was an unusual move for a top U.S. official, as American dignitaries visiting the Western Wall typically don't venture into the ancient tunnels, so as not to appear to take sides in the dispute over eastern Jerusalem between the Israelis and Palestinians.
Bolton also had lunch there beneath the Old City's Muslim Quarter with Israeli officials. He wrote in the guest book that Israel's excavation of the tunnels "is a great accomplishment."
"Best wishes for all your efforts!" Bolton wrote.
Israel captured the city's eastern half, home to holy sites for Jews, Christians and Muslims, in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed it. Palestinians seek east Jerusalem as capital of a future state.
Chief Palestinian negotiator and the secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Saeb Erakat, criticized Bolton's tour of the tunnels as undermining international law.
"This behavior will not change the fact that East Jerusalem is occupied territory and the capital of the state of Palestine," Erakat wrote on Twitter.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/unveiling-of-trumps-israeli-palestinian-peace-plan-to-be-delayed-by-months/ar-BBRSkne?li=BBnb7Kz
C_U_L8R
(44,897 posts)It's about as real and effective as his wall.