Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White leader Benny Gantz are expected to be at the White House next Tuesday to discuss the “Deal of the Century.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received the gift of the century on Thursday when Vice President Mike Pence invited him and Blue and White leader Benny Gantz to the White House for talks next Tuesday about the long-awaited peace plan, otherwise known as the “Deal of the Century.”
It is a gift for a number of reasons. First, on Tuesday, the Knesset is scheduled to hold a fateful vote on Netanyahu’s request for immunity from prosecution for his alleged crimes of bribery, fraud and breach of trust. Will Blue and White now back down from its request to hold the hearing due to the summit in Washington or will it stick to its guns?
Either way, the nation’s attention will be on what is happening in DC and not on what is happening in the Knesset. There, President Donald Trump and the peace team led by his son-in-law Jared Kushner are expected to present details of the plan to Netanyahu and Gantz and then pave the way for the annexation of the Jordan Valley and possibly even more.
The timing for Netanyahu could not have been more perfect. On Thursday, he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and closed what seems to be a deal to secure the release of jailed Israeli Naama Issachar. Then, he went to Yad Vashem and spoke before some 50 heads of state. After that ceremony, he drove to the Western Wall together with Pence and then, afterwards, in a meeting at the US Embassy in Jerusalem, received the official invitation from the White House.
Immunity? Indictment? A third election? Who even remembers that anymore? This is all about Netanyahu the statesman, the diplomat and the world class leader.
It is a gift because even though Gantz has been invited, Pence made a point of saying that the invitation was extended per Netanyahu’s request. In other words, Netanyahu comes off looking like a true leader, not one who plays petty political games when it comes to matters of such strategic importance like the Trump peace plan.
Gantz is in a difficult position. On the one hand, his instinct would be to refuse the invitation. Why play a part in Netanyahu’s game. Everyone in Israeli politics – and especially in his own Likud Party – knows that Netanyahu is not a gracious politician. He doesn’t share credit or the stage for free. Just ask his own ministers who complain about this all the time. There is always an ulterior motive.
As reported by The Jerusalem Post