The Trump administration launched its new Middle East policy in a 5-hour meeting on Monday evening in Jerusalem between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump's Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt.

Mr Greenblatt, an Orthodox Jew who was for years Mr Trump's attorney, arrived in the region for his visit in an official capacity in order to "learn the issues". 

At the end of the meeting, a joint statement was published expressing the usual commitments to Israel's security and a rather enigmatic reference to the settlements. It said that the "two continued discussions relating to settlement construction in the hope of working out an approach that is consistent with the goal of advancing peace and security". 

Sources in Jerusalem said after the meeting that the prime minister and senior members of the Trump administration had agreed that Israel would not carry out any major settlement building or go ahead with any planned legislation for annexation of parts of the West Bank for the time being. Meanwhile, senior officials from both countries are continuing to work on a framework for a "regional peace initiative" that is expected to include also Egypt and Jordan and perhaps the Saudis.

On Tuesday Mr Greenblatt met with President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah for what was described as "a positive, far-ranging exchange about the current situation".