WASHINGTON, D.C. (SDJW) — Amid the tension between Israel and the Palestinian Authority over the kidnapping of three teenagers, one of whom has dual U.S.-Israeli citizenship, the U.S. State Department issued a routine announcement that Charles H. Rivkin, Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs, Charles H. Rivkin, “will travel to Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and Ramallah June 15 to 17. In Tel Aviv he will co-chair the meeting of the Joint Economic Development Group (JEDG) and meet with members of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce; in Jerusalem he will hold bilateral meetings with Israeli Government officials.
In Ramallah, he will hold bilateral meetings with Palestinian business contacts and officials of the Palestinian Authority.
It was not immediately known if the kidnapping, as well as a call by Hamas for a new “intifada” and a claim by a group allied with Al Qaeda taking responsibility for the kidnapping would affect Rivkin’s plans.
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San Diego Jewish World staff report