Alternate Prime Minister and Defense Minister Benny Gantz supports US President Donald Trump’s Deal of the Century and the creation of a Palestinian State alongside Israel, an unnamed Likud official told Kan news on Friday night.
The official also claimed Gantz had been able to reach a good working relationship with ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) parties, ensuring they will wish to prolong the coalition and making attempts by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to lead to new elections much harder.
So far, Netanyahu had been able to block anyone in his party from challenging his leadership, making this statement a very unusual thing despite the Likud official avoiding stepping forward in the media.
The Likud official also said that “coronavirus was the reason for this unity government coming into being and is also the reason that it keeps going.” Israel had passed the threshold of 10,000 confirmed coronavirus cases on Friday and its people are currently not allowed to enter the UK or Cyprus. Netanyahu recently called to approve a budget only for 2020 but Gantz is adamant to have a budget for both 2020, which will end soon, and 2021.
The report also claims Gantz is fully behind the Deal of the Century backed by US President Donald Trump and will agree to the formation of a Palestinian State. Something the Likud had been pressured by politicians to its right and leaders of Jewish communities in the West Bank not to consent to. Making the annexation of West Bank lands and the Jordan Valley something of a problem as, should Netanyahu agree to these demands, Israel would be annexing while voicing objection to the end result of the Deal of the Century. Such a possibility would not be appreciated, one would think, by the US or its leader.