Washington Post: Pompeo tries to manage expectations on Middle East peace plan

Pompeo said "one might argue" the plan is "unexecutable" and it may not "gain traction," according to an audio recording obtained by the Post of a private meeting of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations on Tuesday.

"It may be rejected. Could be in the end, folks will say, 'It's not particularly original, it doesn't particularly work for me,' that is, 'it's got two good things and nine bad things, I'm out,'" Pompeo said.

Trump administration officials have offered few details about the political portion of the long-awaited Israeli-Palestinian peace plan, the effort of which is being led by the President's son-in-law and White House senior adviser, Jared Kushner.

Kushner is expected to discuss the economic portion of its Middle East peace plan at a conference in Bahrain next month, according to a White House official and administration official. The White House last month announced the economic portion aimed at encouraging investing capital in the West Bank, Gaza, and the region.

The plan discusses four major components: infrastructure, industry, empowering and investing in people, and governance reforms to help make the area as appealing as possible to investors.

Pompeo said the State Department has given "quite a bit of consideration" to what it would do if the plan "doesn't gain traction," according to the Post.

He said there are "no guarantees that we're the ones that unlock it," the Post reports, and said, "I hope everyone will engage in a serious way."

Pompeo noted the unveiling of the long-awaited plan has been delayed and said, "This has taken us longer to roll out our plan than I had originally thought it might — to put it lightly."

"I get why people think this is going to be a deal that only the Israelis could love," Pompeo said. "I understand the perception of that. I hope everyone will just give the space to listen and let it settle in a little bit."

The State Department's special envoy to combat anti-Semitism, Elan Carr, who also attended the meeting, said he thought Pompeo "provided a hopeful assessment over the prospect of a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians," according to the Post.

"It was an excellent briefing that was very well received by the conference," he said in a statement from the State Department.

The State Department had no immediate comment. CNN has also reached out to the White House and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations for comment.

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