Report: Trump to meet with advisers on Middle East

President Donald Trump reportedly will meet this week with his top national security and foreign policy advisers to talk about the details and release of its Israeli-palestinian peace plan.

According to Axios, the White House “peace team” led by senior adviser Jared Kushner and special envoy Jason Greenblatt has been working on the plan for two years, and Trump wants it published between December and February 2019.

But the release date is likely to be influenced by the political crisis in Israel that has expected to spark early elections, Axios reported, citing unnamed U.S. officials.

The crisis was sparked by the resignation of Israel’s hard-line Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who stepped down in protest over a cease-fire reached last week with Gaza militants.

Axios reported that the peace team has been readying the content for weeks, and the meeting was scheduled a month ago. But advisers now want a cautious approach, reasoning a plan release during an election campaign in Israel would be a mistake.

One unnamed administration official told Axios that David Friedman, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, thinks the White House should wait until after the election to prevent it from becoming a referendum on the plan.

Kushner, Greenblatt and national security adviser John Bolton will all attend this week’s meeting, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo or another senior State Department official, the news outlet reported.