US plans Middle East peace push after 鈥榗ooling off鈥� over Jerusalem

An Israeli policeman scuffles with a Palestinian man during a demonstration in a street in East Jerusalem on Saturday. (Reuters)

WASHINGTON: The White House is to renew efforts to reach an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal, officials said Friday, despite outrage over President Donald Trump鈥檚 decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel鈥檚 capital.
Senior administration officials said efforts to push the process forward will be rekindled as soon as next week, in the hope that anger at Trump鈥檚 move will subside.
Trump on Dec, 6 announced a break with decades of American policy, effectively ignoring Palestinian claims on the Holy City.
The decision has sparked almost universal diplomatic condemnation and deadly protests in the Palestinian territories.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas 鈥� 82 years old and facing the prospect of entering the history books as the leader who 鈥渓ost Jerusalem鈥� 鈥� took the dramatic move of canceling a planned meeting with Vice President Mike Pence.
The vice president is due to arrive in Jerusalem on Wednesday, although he is not slated to meet Palestinian leaders.
鈥淲e understand that the Palestinians may need a bit of a cooling off period, that鈥檚 fine,鈥� said one senior administration official.
The White House hopes that Pence鈥檚 visit can begin to draw a line under the issue.
鈥淥bviously the last couple of weeks in the region have been a reaction to the Jerusalem decision,鈥� said a second senior administration official. 鈥淲e鈥檝e seen a lot of the emotion that has been displayed on that.鈥�
鈥淭his trip is kind of part of the ending of that chapter and the beginning of the next chapter... We still continue to be focused on a peace process and how we ultimately bring that situation to a conclusion.鈥�
The vice president will be joined in Israel by Trump鈥檚 chief peace negotiator Jason Greenblatt, who has not met his Palestinian interlocutors since Dec. 6.
鈥淲e will be ready when the Palestinians are ready to reengage,鈥� said the first official.
But hopes for a quick resumption of peace talks may prove optimistic. On Friday alone, four Palestinians were killed and hundreds wounded in violence with Israeli forces across the Palestinian territories.
Trump鈥檚 move has called into question whether the US can serve as a fair arbiter, a role it has played for much of the last half century.
Trump came to office claiming he could make 鈥渢he ultimate deal,鈥� but that effort now risks being derailed by his own actions.
鈥淲e aren鈥檛 setting any kind of deadlines or timeframes. There鈥檚 one thing I鈥檓 sure of in this job, is that any deadline we set, we will blow past,鈥� said a US official.