Pompeo tries to lower expectations of Middle East peace plan

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo discussed the Trump administration's still-secret Middle East peace plan during a private meeting on Tuesday, revealing that "one might argue" the plan is "unexecutable" and "it may be rejected," The Washington Post reports.

The Post obtained an audio recording of the meeting of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, held just one day before Israel's parliament voted to dissolve itself after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was unable to form a governing coalition. President Trump tasked his son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner and former Trump Organization lawyer Jason Greenblatt with solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, one of the world's most vexing political issues.

"I get why people think this is going to be a deal that only the Israelis could love," Pompeo said. "I understand the perception of that. I hope everyone will just give the space to listen and let it settle in a little bit." Pompeo noted that it's "taken longer to roll out our plan than I had originally thought it might," and there are "no guarantees" that the United States will be able to "unlock" a solution to the problem.

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Through the State Department, Elan Carr, the special envoy to combat anti-Semitism, told the Post that Pompeo "provided a hopeful assessment over the prospect of a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians. It was an excellent briefing that was very well received by the conference."