Mideast peace plan postponed: US envoy

TEL AVIV, Israel

U.S. ambassador to Israel David Friedman said on Sunday that his administration's plan for peace in the Middle East would be delayed.

In statements he gave during a visit by U.S. President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton, to Israel, Friedman said the rollout of the so-called “deal of the century” will be delayed by several months.

The “deal of the century” refers to a backchannel U.S. Mideast peace plan, details of which have yet to be made public.

Tamer Zandberg, chairwoman of Israeli Meretz movement, decried the U.S. delay of the plan.

"It is not clear to me in what century Trump intends to publish the 'deal of the century,'" she said. "It is sad that Trump's way of helping [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu in the elections is to postpone the publication of the plan instead of urging it forward."

Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked had earlier described Washington’s “deal of the century” as a “waste of time”.

The Palestinian Authority has rejected any U.S. mediation in peace talks since Trump unilaterally recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in late 2017, triggering world outcry.

Jerusalem remains at the heart of the decades-long Middle East conflict, with Palestinians hoping that East Jerusalem -- occupied by Israel since 1967 -- might one day serve as the capital of a Palestinian state.