Gantz may block settlement annexation by new government

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised to apply Israeli law to all Israeli towns in the West Bank, in the framework of US President Donald Trump’s peace plan.

By LAHAV HARKOV
Blue and White leader Benny Gantz at a press conference (photo credit: ELAD MALKA)
Blue and White leader Benny Gantz at a press conference
(photo credit: ELAD MALKA)
Blue and White leader Benny Gantz opposes unilateral settlement annexation, sources close to him said on Sunday, as negotiations continued for a unity government.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised to apply Israeli law to all Israeli towns in the West Bank, in the framework of US President Donald Trump’s peace plan, which allows for annexation beyond just the settlements, of 30% of the West Bank. The other 70% would become a demilitarized Palestinian state.
Gantz met with Trump in Washington in January, the day before the plan was presented to the public, and said: "I will work toward implementing it from within a stable, functioning Israeli government in tandem with other countries in our region." Several days later, Blue and White, which he led at the time, said it would bring the entirety of the Trump plan to a vote in the Knesset.
The party leader’s spokeswoman declined to comment on coalition negotiations following a report on Channel 13 that Gantz and Netanyahu clashed in coalition talks over the issue of settlement annexation.
But a source close to Gantz said he has consistently opposed “unilateral annexation.”
Gantz “has the general principle of not wanting to alienate Jordan and Egypt and that position has not changed,” the source said.
Netanyahu may have a majority to push annexation through the Knesset despite Gantz’s views, though using it would risk losing Gantz as a coalition partner. His right-wing bloc has 61 seats, plus Blue and White MKs Zvi Hauser and Yoaz Hendel, who favor annexation, seek to move to the coalition. In addition, MK Orly Levy-Abecassis could vote for annexation.
Asked about Gantz’s apparent opposition to a core element of the peace plan, a Trump administration source said Gantz “came to Washington and said he’s in favor of it, and we have not heard anything different from him.”
“Until he tells us [otherwise], we are proceeding as though we have a partner on the other side,” the source said.
The source called the Trump plan the best chance for progress toward peace in the region, and that a robust Israeli government could enact it.
The US does not see Jordan and Egypt rejecting the plan outright, and a unity government to fight “the China virus,” as the source called COVID-19, would be stable enough to bring neighboring countries on board, and argued that Gulf states support the plan, as well.
Jordanian Prime Minister Omar Razzaz spoke out against the plan earlier this month, telling CNN that it could put Jordan's peace treaty with Israel into "deep freeze mode."
Egypt was more supportive after the plan's release, expressing appreciation for the US "efforts...to achieve a comprehensive and just settlement for the Palestinians" and calling for negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates made similar statements, while Qatar called for a Palestinian state "within the 1967 borders, including east Jerusalem" and the right of return.