US President Donald Trump has made ‘making peace in the Middle East’ as one of the key cornerstones of his foreign policy and making a peace agreement between the Israelis and the Palestinians is an integral part of it. While he described such agreement as one of the most difficult deal, he said that he is hopeful that he can make an agreement. While he said that the United States is comfortable with any deal that the two can agree to, his actions have remained more supportive of Israel so far.

After some considerable progress in the area, the US efforts has suffered setbacks as both parties failed to live up to the demanded commitments. Despite U.S. demand, the Israeli government is not ready to give up its control over Palestinian economy. The Israeli government has so far offered less than the White House has requested on issues that include the ability of Palestinians to build in the occupied West Bank. Most of the economic gestures Israel has promised are steps it had already pledged to take under the Obama administration. Palestinians remain angry over Israel, which continues to build settlements in the disputed West Bank and East Jerusalem. Israel remains skeptical that the Palestinian President Abbas does have the will to reach any kind of agreement.

Ahead of President Trump’s visit to Jerusalem and Bethlehem last month, Israel did agree to relax building restrictions in Area C, improve some border crossings between Israel and the West Bank, and provide 24-hour service at Allenby Bridge, the main crossing used by Palestinians into Jordan. However, many of these measures had already been promised by Israel before Trump took office and never implemented. Another pledge by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to allow the building of 14,000 new Palestinian homes in one of the West Bank’s biggest cities, now faces an angry backlash from conservative politicians within his party and likely to get stalled.

Donald Trump’s top Middle East envoys Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, and Jason Greenblatt will meet Israeli and Palestinian leaders this week.