Iran Press/Middle East: "Under certain circumstances, I think Israel has the right to retain some, but unlikely all, of the West Bank," David Friedman said in an interview published by the New York Times on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Palestinians believe that his claim was a new nail in the coffin of a peace process that is already on life support and senior Palestinian officials had strong backlashes to it, Al Jazeera reported.
Senior Palestinian official Saeb Erekat said any such policy would be tantamount to "US complicity with Israeli colonial plans".
Responding to the US envoy's remarks, Palestine Liberation Organization's (PLO) executive member Hanan Ashrawi said the US was justifying land theft.
"We've also heard from a statement by Fatah, the ruling party in the West Bank, which said that they don't know if the US ambassador is representing the view of Israeli settlers or that of the US administration," Ibrahim said.
No firm date has yet been set for the unveiling of the Trump administration's plan, although a conference is to be held in Bahrain later this month on its economic aspects.
The Palestinians have rejected the peace plan before it has even been unveiled, citing a string of moves by US President Donald Trump that they say show his administration is irredeemably biased.
On May 31, Iran's president, Hassan Rouhani warned the heads of Islamic states attending Mecca Summit against the dangerous conspiracy of the Deal of the Century. 213/214
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