Pompeo meets Netanyahu, annexation talks expected

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday in Jerusalem for talks that were expected to address Israel's plans to annex parts of the West Bank.

Pompeo landed in Tel Aviv early in the morning and proceeded directly to Jerusalem, receiving an exemption from Israel's mandatory two-week quarantine for arrivals due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Pompeo said in a statement the talks will also tackle the global pandemic.

His visit is the first to Israel by any foreign official since January, before the country largely shut its borders to halt the spread of the pandemic.

Netanyahu and his new coalition partner, Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz, postponed the swearing-in of their government until Thursday to accommodate Pompeo's visit.

One of the key items on the agenda in Pompeo's talks with Netanyahu and Gantz was Israel’s stated intention to annex parts of the West Bank - a move certain to enrage the Palestinians and much of the Arab world as well as many of Israel's Western allies.

Israeli hard-liners are eager to unilaterally redraw the Mideast map before November's US presidential election.

Wednesday's meeting could provide an indication of how far the administration is willing to allow Netanyahu to move.

Israel captured the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza Strip in the 1967 Mideast war.

The Palestinians seek these territories as part of a future independent state.

Most of the international community opposes Israeli annexation, saying it would scuttle hopes of a two-state solution to the conflict.