A top official at the US Embassy in Jerusalem said, "As we have made consistently clear, we are prepared to recognize Israeli actions to extend Israeli sovereignty and the application of Israeli law to areas of the West Bank that the [Trump peace plan] foresees as being part of the State of Israel." The statement made clear that "Israeli actions" will be validated by the Trump administration without recognition of a Palestinian state. -GEG

The recently established US Embassy in Jerusalem (moved from Tel Aviv last year as part of Trump's plan) has confirmed that the world will soon see the most controversial element of Trump's peace plan put into effect: Israeli annexation over broad swathes of the West Bank, particularly the Jordan Valley.

"As we have made consistently clear, we are prepared to recognize Israeli actions to extend Israeli sovereignty and the application of Israeli law to areas of the West Bank that the [Trump peace plan] foresees as being part of the State of Israel," a top US Embassy official told the Times of Israel on Friday.

The statement made clear that "Israeli actions" will be validated with or without recognition of a Palestinian state, something which on paper at least Trump's 'deal of the century' offered.