Netanyahu to meet Pompeo in Brussels

Jerusalem : Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that he will meet US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo later in the day in Brussels to discuss regional issues.

A statement issued by Netanyahu's Office said he will depart for Belgium later in the day, adding that the meeting was set last week, the Times of Israel reported.

The statement said that the Prime Minister and Pompeo will discuss "regional developments" and that Netanyahu will be accompanied by the head of Israel's intelligence agency Mossad, the head of the National Security Council and the Military Secretary.

The meeting comes a week after UN Ambassador Danny Danon told reporters that US President Donald Trump's administration officials had alerted Israel that they had finished structuring a peace plan and intend to present it early next year.

Danon said that Washington had discussed with Jerusalem the timing for unveiling the proposal.

Pompeo and Netanyahu last met during the US Secretary of State's visit to Israel in April.

During his meeting with Netanyahu that time, Pompeo referred to Trump's unpublished plan for Israeli-Palestinian peace, saying that Washington was committed to a lasting peace.

The Palestinians severed ties with the Trump administration after its decision to move the US Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and declare the city Israel's capital.

The US administration has cut more than $500 million in Palestinian aid since the start of the Palestinian boycott.