Blue and White leader thanks US president for personal invite to discuss Mideast plan, calls him a ‘true friend to Israel’; PM says trip is ‘opportunity that cannot be missed’
By TOI STAFF Today, 7:58 pm
Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz addressing press in Ramat Gan, on January 25, 2020. (Elad Malka/Blue and White)
Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz on Saturday said he had accepted a personal invitation from US President Donald Trump to meet with him privately in Washington on Monday on the administration’s long-awaited Middle East peace plan.
Gantz had been invited to Washington alongside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the peace plan, dubbed the “deal of the century,” which Trump has said he will likely release in the next few days. The two rival Israeli leaders were to have met Trump on Tuesday.
But Gantz — concerned he would be a minor player in such a meeting, but not wanting to say no to the president — said Saturday that he would instead meet with Trump separately on Monday “as the leader of the largest party in Israel.” Gantz is Netanyahu’s main political rival. Elections last April and September ended in deadlock between the rival blocs they head; further elections are to be held on March 2.
The meeting, set to be Gantz’s first with the US president, will be closed to the press, Blue and White said on Saturday.
Gantz, who will leave Israel Sunday morning and be back in the country by Monday afternoon, will be joined on his short trip by Amir Eshel, former commander of the Israeli Air Force. According to Blue and White, Eshel “has been serving over recent months in an advisory capacity to Mr. Gantz on the American peace plan and as a liaison to the American government on his behalf.”
Netanyahu’s office, in a statement issued immediately after Gantz announced his move, said the prime minister would also meet privately with Trump on Monday, in addition to the planned Tuesday meeting.
Appearing on live TV, Gantz said he has answered an invitation from Trump to meet with him privately and thanked him for the invitation.
“In coordination with the US administration, I accepted the personal, separate, respectful invitation from President Trump, and will meet with him personally on Monday, as the head of the biggest party in Israel. And I thank him for this important invitation.”
At the end of that White House meeting, he said, he would “return to Israel in order to lead, from up close, the discussions on removing Benjamin Netanyahu’s immunity.” Gantz was referring to the process, which is set to start in the Knesset on Tuesday, of weighing Netanyahu’s request for parliamentary protection from prosecution in the three graft cases for which he has been charged.
Gantz called Trump “a true friend to Israel, to Israelis, and to American Jews” and said that under his leadership “the alliance between Israel and the United States has grown stronger, deeper, and more significant than ever.”
He said Trump’s proposed peace plan would come to constitute a “meaningful milestone,” setting out the path for the conflicting sides in the Middle East “to march toward a regional, historic deal.”
Gantz added that in recent months, he had held several meetings and discussions on the US peace plan with the US president’s “advisers, White House officials, and my friend, Ambassador David Friedman.”
From left to right: Blue and White Party MK Yair Lapid, party leader Benny Gantz, Special Adviser to the US President Jared Kushner, and US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman during a meeting at the US Embassy in Jerusalem, October 28, 2019. (Jeries Mansour, US Embassy Jerusalem)
“I value and appreciate their commitment to the State of Israel and its prosperity, as well as their willingness to share, to listen to what was said in these talks regarding Israel’s security interests, and its regional and international status. The content of our conversations, just like the details of the plan, will remain secret for now,” said the Blue and White leader.
In order to move effectively ahead on such a process, which he predicted would be divisive within Israel, Gantz said Israel needed to be led “by a prime minister who has the public legitimacy to implement it.” Netanyahu, since he is facing criminal charges, said Gantz, lacked such legitimacy. Gantz predicted that he would win March 2’s elections, and then lead the efforts for diplomatic progress.
Israel is facing “irregular times,’ said Gantz, ahead of a third round of “unnecessary, expensive” elections that will have to yield clear results.
“We must remember that, alongside issues of policy and security, we are in the midst of a struggle with historical implications for the image of the country,” he said Saturday.
“Will it be a country with a leader who uses democracy to elevate and give special status to racist and extremist forces for his own personal immunity? Will it be a country where every one of you is bound to uphold the law while its ministers and prime ministers are immune and so above the law?” asked Gantz in reference to Netanyahu.
“For the sake of supporting immunity, will our lives be managed from now on with Itamar Ben Gvir as Minister of Justice, Bezalel Smotrich as Minister of Interior and Rafi Peretz as Minister of Education?” he went on, referring to the head of the far-right, Kahanist-inspired Otzma Yehudit, the National Union chairman, and the Jewish Home head, respectively.
“Israel cannot continue to sink and bow its head to these intentions,” said Gantz.
Prior to Gantz’s announcement, Netanyahu released a short video in Hebrew in which he called the invitation to Washington a “historic moment” and an “opportunity that should not be missed.
US President Donald Trump (R) and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu embrace prior to signing a Proclamation on the Golan Heights in the Diplomatic Reception Room at the White House, March 25, 2019. (Saul Loeb/AFP)
“Today in the White House, we have the greatest friend Israel has had, and so we have the greatest opportunity,” Netanyahu said.
“For three years, I have been talking to President Trump and his team about our most vital security needs which must be included in any political settlement. I have found a listening ear in the White House for these needs,” he said.
The prime minister said he was headed to Washington “with a sense of great mission, of great responsibility and [amid] a great opportunity that will not repeat itself to ensure Israel’s future.”
Reports had swirled prior to Gantz’s announcement Saturday that the opposition party leader would opt out of the trip to Washington altogether, fearing it to be a “trap.” A Channel 12 report on Saturday citing sources close to Gantz said that he did not know what role he would have in the “performance” in Washington and that it wasn’t clear what his standing would be.
The report said Gantz was also unsure about how Trump would treat him in relation to Netanyahu, who has a long and friendly history with the US leader.
“In Blue and White, they fear it will be more political than diplomatic, and that Netanyahu is bringing Gantz to Washington, not to praise him, but to embarrass him, or diminish him,” the report said. Blue and White was also reluctant to publicly cooperate with rival Netanyahu, the TV report added, as the party’s main campaign focus has been on the need to remove the prime minister from office.
Gantz and Netanyahu were invited to the White House next Tuesday, the day the Knesset is set to vote on establishing the committee that will weigh the premier’s request to be protected from corruption charges in three criminal cases. Netanyahu is set to fly out on Sunday.
Blue and White Party leaders told Channel 12 Friday that they could not “on the one hand work to remove Netanyahu’s immunity [from prosecution] and his legitimacy, but at the same time participate in this together with him, giving him the status of a leader heading these major diplomatic moves.”
Earlier Saturday, Yisrael Beytenu party chief Avigdor Liberman said the timing of Trump’s imminent release of his Israeli-Palestinian plan was “very suspicious” — implying it was being unveiled now to help boost Netanyahu’s chances in the March 2 election
Issuing the long-awaited plan so close to the election, said Liberman, meant that there would no possibility to discuss it substantively before the vote.
“To unveil such a plan five weeks before an election is very suspicious,” he said. “The very timing of it will prevent any serious, in-depth discussion of the proposal.” And in a peace plan, he added, “every word and every line counts.”
Liberman also accused Netanyahu of “running away” to the US by traveling to Washington this coming week, at the president’s invitation, to discuss the peace initiative.
Liberman claimed the premier was attempting to avoid his promise to annex the Jordan Valley to Israel, a move the Yisrael Beytenu party leader asserted could be swiftly approved when the Knesset plenum convenes Tuesday.
Netanyahu, he said, was “running away to the US to avoid his promise to extend sovereignty over the Jordan Valley. He’s running away from his obligations. Instead of driving 2.5 kilometers to the Knesset, he prefers to fly 9,500 kilometers to Washington.”
On Thursday, US Vice President Mike Pence confirmed that Netanyahu would visit the White House next week and said that Gantz was also invited, at Netanyahu’s urging.
Trump on Thursday said that he would likely release the plan before his meeting with Netanyahu and Gantz.
“It’s a great plan. It’s a plan that really would work,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One en route to a Republican Party meeting in Florida Thursday.
The plan is expected to strongly favor Israel, and is unlikely to garner any international support if it is seen as undermining the prospect of a two-state solution.
Trump said his administration has talked briefly to the Palestinians, who reject the administration’s peace plan before its release.
According to Channel 12, the peace plan is the most generous US proposal ever for Israel, likely providing for Israeli sovereignty over all West Bank settlements and sovereignty throughout Jerusalem. According to that TV report, which was unsourced, the plan also offers potential eventual recognition of Palestinian statehood, provided the Palestinians demilitarize Gaza and accept Israel as a Jewish state — conditions the Palestinians would presumably reject.
Proceedings at home
Blue and White sources have also said that at this point the party had no intention to push off the immunity proceedings.
Netanyahu’s Likud party, on the other hand, was seeking to delay the vote on forming the committee to deliberate his immunity request, citing the Trump administration’s intention to unveil its peace plan, according to Hebrew media reports.
Likud ministers were considering asking Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein to delay convening the plenum that day, the Kan public broadcaster said.
Netanyahu has sought to prevent the forming of a House Committee to weigh his immunity request prior to the March 2 election, as under the makeup of the current Knesset it is all but assured of rejecting it.
Blue and White MK Avi Nissenkorn, head of the Knesset’s Arrangements Committee, on Tuesday penciled in January 30 at 2:30 p.m. as the start of Netanyahu’s hearings, which are expected to take a week and include six sessions.
The start, however, depends on Tuesday’s scheduled plenum vote to form the House Committee.
Once formed, the House Committee could conceivably debate and potentially vote on Netanyahu’s immunity request in the coming weeks, ahead of election day. Even if it fails to reach a verdict by then, its meetings are likely to keep Netanyahu’s criminal proceedings front and center in the election campaign.
The prime minister and his supporters have argued that the committee should not be formed because the Israeli government is in transition, and also because there is insufficient time before the elections for it to properly weigh the immunity request.
Netanyahu announced at the start of January that he would ask the Knesset for parliamentary immunity, as he faced a legal deadline to do so, following Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit’s decision to charge him in three corruption cases. Mandelblit cannot officially indict Netanyahu until the Knesset votes on his request.
Netanyahu has been charged with fraud and breach of trust in three cases, and bribery in one of them. He denies any wrongdoing, and claims, without evidence, that the charges are part of an attempted “political coup” against him involving the opposition, media, police and state prosecution.
@ Adam Dalgliesh:
Chill I was teasing!
I believe that the Attorney General and the High Court will force Netanyahu to resign after the election. That will leave the path clear for Gantz to form a government. It will take time for the Likud to unite around a new leader–too long for the Likud to lead a government, even if the “right” bloc gets a majority. And that is unlikely now that Netanyahu has been indicted.
That will leave Gantz with several possible pathways towards leading the next government. He might form a government that includes all of the right-of center parties and all of the left-center parties except the Arab parties, and also leaving Leiberman out. Or he might actually be able to form a “minority” government to with Leiberman and and a vote of confidence from the Arab parties, or the two of them led by Tibi and Odeh, if he gives Leiberman absolute assurances that they will not be allowed to play any role in issues affecting Israel’s national security or borders. He could promise Leiberman, as Minister of Defense, would have complete control over all such matters. In order to get the Arabs on board, he could promise them much more spending for the Arab sector within Israel, more construction for Arab housing (maybe even the “new Arab city” that Odeh and Tibi have been talking about) plus stepped up economic assistance to Gaza and some communities in Judea Samaria. Leiberman has never been opposed to this kind of assistance to Arabs. He is anti-terrorist but not anti-Arab. Odeh and Tibi can justify this to their voters by pointing out that htis will exclude Netanyahu, Likud and the religious Zionists from power, in addition to conferring economic benefits to them and their brethren in Yesha.
A third alternative pathway for Getz would be to recruit the haredi parties, but not the other Right parties to go into coalition with him. Gantz and even Lapid have been sending out all sorts of smoke signals in recent weeks that they are open to this idea. Although the haredim are suspicious of Gantz and even more so of rapid, they will be afraid of being left out in the cold and Leiberman being brought into the government instead of them. They will realize that if they are left out of the government, all of their programs and instituions could be defunded, the rabbinate deprived of its control over marriage, divorce and conversions, etc. Their first layalty is to their constituents, not the “Zionist” right bloc. They may even be prepared to accept the Arab parties joiining them in a vote of confidence provided they are excluded from all decisions concerning Israel’s national defense and borders. They, like Leiberman, are unlikely to oppose more spending to help the Arabs economically. It should also be noted that the two “moderate” ArabMKs have been trying to buddy up to their haredi counterparts over the past few months. The Arab parties will not oppose continued spending for the haredi sector.
The only way Gantz could possibly fail is if he fails to demonstrate the minimum negotiating skills reuired of him after the election. That is possible, given his shyness, secretness and extreme caution in making decisions. But my hunch is that he will manage this all right. It will be a matter of counting from one to ten without making a mistake.
@ Bear Klein: I have no contact whatsoever with Deri or anyone in Shas. Just reported his claim a titre d’information. Never said it was true.
@ Adam Dalgliesh:He is just bad mouthing Liberman. Liberman has NOT said that NOR would he do it.
More than that the Arab Joint List has no said they would no longer even recommend Gantz to be Prime Minister because he is for Trumps racist peace plan.
Shas spin is just part their war of words with Liberman. Are you and Deri working together secretly?
@ Adam Dalgliesh:
It was only a few weeks ago that Liberman said that a rightwing government is a done deal.
Shas’s Aryeh Deri is claiming that Leiberman has struck a deal with Gantz and the Arab parties to form a left-leaning government backed by both Israel Beiteinu and the Arab parties. I don’t know if this is true or not.
The views of some of Gantz’s advisors raise doubts about Gantz’s willingness and ability to work with Trump if he wins the coming election. From Israel Hayom:
We will see Tuesday what the Trump plan consists. Finally no more guessing or reading contradictory inside sources.
@ Ted Belman:USA interests include the Gulf States and Trump will not come out with a plan that says no Pal State. So he is putting out a plan with a Pal State in theory even though he has acknowledged that they will not agree certainly at first. This is his diplomatic cover with the USA Arab friends.
Trump has said that if the Pals do not come around and participate the plan will not go forward.
You have acknowledged that Trump put forward a plan that includes a Pal State even though the nature of its that they will not agree. Then they would not agree to anything we have seen since the 1930s.
Your disagreement with what Tobin wrote is about what that is significant and not semantic?
Most of us on the right disagree with the establishment of a Pal State. That does not mean Trump does not have to give it lip service for his own purposes.
@ Bear Klein:
I disagree strongly with your approval of this article. Tobin is plain out wrong when he says:
I believe that Trump knows that his nod to a Palestinian state will never result in such a state unless you beieve that Jordan would be the state.
The proposal is meant to be a non-starter and a prelude to writing off the Palestinian demands. They will find that if they want to live in a Palestinian state they will have to move to Jordan.
Gantz, said after his meeting with Trump, the Trump Plan is a historical milestone and he plans on implementing it after the elections as part of a new government in-conjunction with other middle east countries including Jordan who is very important.
Gantz spoke both in Hebrew and English. The speeches were identical except in English he did not speak negatively about Bibi. He Hebrew he said Bibi can not go to court and run a government.
@ Adam Dalgliesh:
I am not a Gantz fan and I would not vote for him.
Blue/White will accept the Trump plan. Lapid has also said so and said they have seen the plan and discussed with Trumps’ people.
You may not believe it and that is okay.
@ Bear Klein: Ya’alon is not Gantz. Notice that he says”We will address the outline and not a moment before.” Also, “The outline has more political aspects than diplomatic, “The prime minister, who is under indictments, is trying to escape the defendant’s bench.” and “we will hold the discussion on immunity anyway.”
This implies that the Trump proposal is a political ploy devised by Trump and Bibi together to bail out Bibi . Also notice that he spends far words vowing to deny Bibi immunity than he does to commenting on the Trump “deal.” This is definitely not a full-throated endorsement of the Trump proposal.
I believe that Gantz opposes the Trump plan because he favors a negotiated settlement with the Palestinian Authority, and he knows that the plan is a non-starter for negotiating with the Palestinians. He also opposes any agreement that is not “coordinated with the international community,” and he knows that the “the international community” (which basically means the UN) will never “coordinate” with the Trump plan. But he is not fool enough to openly oppose a proposed settlement that is favorable to Israel aand put forward by a president of the United States. If he did, that would effectively end his candidacy.
As usual, he directs his deputies to speak for him so that he doesn’t have to commit himself. Typical of Benny’s evasiveness and secretiveness, as well as his distaste for public appearances and press conferences.
These character traits will make him a disaster as prime minister.
Blue/White has seen the Trump plan and approves of it.
Continue article at: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/275103
Jonathan Tobin has written the best article on the Trump plan and peace with the Pal-Arabs I have read by far.
Continue article at https://www.jns.org/opinion/is-trumps-plan-a-plot-a-fantasy-or-an-exercise-in-realism/
The coming election is not just about Netanyahu personally but also about major policy issues.Netanyahu and Gantz don’t have “basically the same views’ on Israeli security and Palestine policy. Gantz wants Israel to withdraw from the central mountainous region of Judea-Samaria and evacuate the settlements there, where 85-90 thousand Israeli Jews live. Bibi opposes withdrawal from this area and evacuation of the Israeli settlements there. This territory, which includes the hill country overlooking Tel Aviv, Netanya and Jerusalem, is vital to Israel’s security. Gantz favors the “two state solution.” Bibi has reservations about it. Gantz thinks Israel’s borders should be subject to negotiations with the PA “State of Palestine.” Bibi thinks Israel should define it borders unilaterally. Gantz thinks Israel should annex the Jordan Valley only “in coordination with the International community,” which will never “coordinate” with Israel about this. Bibi doesn’t see the need for this “coordination.” These are major policy differences. The election offers a real choice between the policies of the “peace camp” and those of the “national camp.”
Of course Gantz and Blue-White want the election to focus solely on Bibi’s legal problems, because that is the only issue they have whitch is a vote-getter. But if they succeed in pushing Bibi out with the help of the public prosecutors, the A.G. and the Supremes, they will have trouble reaching a consensus amlng themselves about other issues. The results will be a weak, divided, ineffectual government.
Gantz’s secretiveness, extreme shyness, poor public speaking skills and lack of foreign language skills will make him a weak, ineffectual Prime Minister.
The precedent set by the ex-speaker of the Knesset and the Supreme Court to allow the ex-Knesset that the President dissolved in July to resume business as usual, as though it were a legal body, means that the Prime Minister and Cabinet are no longer needed to govern the country. They have been reduced to window-dressing. However, the Knesset as a whole is just as divided as the left-of center parties about non-Bibi issues, and hence will not be able to make firm decisions any more than the cabinet.
The only possible solution is a clear right-wing victory in the elections and new Basic Laws to drastically limit the political powers of the Supreme Court, the public prosecutirs, the Attorney-General, the Bar Association, and unelected civil servants. But the likelihood of this happening on March 2 or even within the next five-ten years is almost zero. Be ready for a very bumpy ride.
By the way, Gantz is lying when he said that Itamar Ben-Gvir is Minister of Justice. He does not have any cabinet position. Bibi never offered him the Justice ministry. And there is no firm evidence that he has ever offered him any ministerial post.
But then we still need liebermans, Mandelblits along with uncle Tom coblys views, ‘a real mess Olly.’