Israel鈥檚 Gantz says date for West Bank annexation talks 鈥榥ot sacred鈥�

Israeli alternate Prime Minister and Defence Minister Benny Gantz attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem while wearing a protective mask due to the COVID-19 pandemic, on June 7, 2020. (File/AFP)
Short Url
  • Washington wants Gantz on board for the plan, which envisages Israel annexing Jewish settlements and the Jordan Valley
  • Netanyahu and Gantz had agreed in a deal under which they formed a coalition government last month that a cabinet debate on annexation could begin as of July 1

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu鈥檚 top coalition partner Benny Gantz said on Monday that a July 1 target date to begin discussing proposed annexation of occupied West Bank land was 鈥渘ot sacred,鈥� a source in Gantz鈥檚 party said.
The remarks, which the source said Gantz made during a meeting with US Ambassador David Friedman and White House adviser Avi Berkowitz, threw doubt on prospects for a unified Israeli approach to President Donald Trump鈥檚 peace plan.
Washington wants Gantz on board for the plan, which envisages Israel annexing Jewish settlements and the Jordan Valley, and a Palestinian state established under strict conditions elsewhere in the West Bank.
With the Palestinians boycotting the plan, however, Netanyahu and Gantz had agreed in a deal under which they formed a coalition government last month that a cabinet debate on annexation could begin as of July 1.
鈥淕antz made clear in the meeting that July 1 is not a sacred date鈥� and voiced preference for Israel dealing with the economic ravages of the coronavirus crisis, a source in his centrist Blue and White party said.
Briefing reporters last week, Gantz 鈥� who serves as Israel鈥檚 defense minister, as well as alternate prime minister 鈥� predicted that the coronavirus crisis could last 18 months.
Hailing the Trump plan as an 鈥渉istoric move,鈥� Gantz told the US envoys that it should be advanced 鈥渨ith strategic partners in the region and with the Palestinians, and to reach an arrangement that benefits all side,鈥� the source said.
The US embassy spokeswoman could not immediately be reached for comment.