Israeli Foreign Policy
“I am hopeful we can make history,” says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who along with Blue and White leader Benny Gantz is in the United States to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump ahead of the reveal of Trump’s Mideast peace plan.
While any peace deal is likely to be controversial, its project release is coming under added scrutiny. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his political opponents believe that he stands to benefit from the outcome just five weeks’ away from national elections.
Israeli and American representatives at the United Nations believe that the unveiling of the long-awaited initiative will spark resistance within various U.N. bodies, specifically the Security Council.
“Reminder to the International Community: Israel is an Occupying Power of the State of Palestine on the 1967 borders,” tweeted PLO Executive Committee Secretary-General Saeb Erekat.
Concerned that details of the Mideast peace plan may spark violence, Israel deploys additional forces in Judea and Samaria • IDF strikes Hamas targets in Gaza in retaliation for a slew of balloon bombs.
“I’d love to be able to do that deal. They say that’s the hardest of all deals,” said the U.S. president. “It’s a great plan. It’s a plan that really would work.”
Two major party leaders don’t “come to Washington just for a conversation,” which poses questions as to why an initiative would be released a month before the third round of Israeli elections, says Aaron David Miller, a former Mideast negotiator.
Emmanuel Macron accuses Israeli officers of breaking “centuries-old” rules preventing them from entering a Crusader-era church in Jerusalem’s Old City that is considered French territory.
Matteo Salvini, head of Italy’s right-wing Lega Party, sits down for an interview on anti-Semitism, immigration and the relationship of Israel and the European Union.
Israeli, Egyptian energy ministers hail the landmark event in Cairo as an “important development” that will “serve the interests of both sides.”
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) warned that amid the increasing tension between the United States and Iran, “Donald Trump is taking us pell-mell towards another war.”
“He understands what needs to be done to get the Israelis and the Palestinians closer together,” said King Abdullah II, although he has expressed concern about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s pledge to annex the Jordan Valley.
