Trump envoy delays unveiling of Middle East 'Deal of the Century' until after Israel election

Donald Trump's long-awaited 'Deal of the Century' will be delayed until after the US election.
2 min read
28 August, 2019
Parts of Deal of the Century should be unveiled later this year [Getty]

President Donald Trump's much anticipated "Deal of the Century" Middle East peace plan will not be unveiled until after Israeli elections next month, the White House special envoy said Wednesday.

"We have decided that we will not be releasing the peace vision (or parts of it) prior to the Israeli election," Jason Greenblatt tweeted.

The comment came after a confused message by Trump over the weekend about the peace plan, dubbed "Deal of the Century" by the White House.

"It got complicated by the Israeli election, but we're going to know who the prime minister is going to be fairly soon... That was a complicating factor."

Trump was asked by journalists if his plan for Palestine and Israel will be released before the elections.

"Of course not," he said in response, but then adding that they "may see what the deal looks like before the election".

The rest of the deal was meant to roll out over the summer period but was delayed after surprise elections were held in Israel due to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's failure to secure a coalition government.

Trump added that he believes Palestinian officials will accept the deal, despite consistent denunciations from Ramallah.

"I cut off most funding to the Palestinians, a lot of funding. And I think they’d like to get it back," Trump said.

The Palestinians have rejected the deal, which they believe will unfairly favour Israel.