Blue and White Party leader, Benny Gantz could well see his dream of becoming Israel’s next Prime Minister implode on 2 March after meeting with President Trump at the White House this coming week.
It will all depend on Gantz’s reaction to Trump’s long-awaited and eagerly-anticipated Deal of the Century outlining Trump’s plan for resolving the future of Judea and Samaria (the “West Bank”) and Gaza (collectively the “disputed territories ”).
Trump’s deal represents his personal effort to end the 100 years long-running and unresolved conflict between Arabs and Jews in former Palestine. Trump follows in the footsteps of many other American Presidents whose well-intentioned proposals ended up in the garbage bin of history.
Trump’s plan will be different to previous Presidents’ proposals in that it will offer Israel the immediate opportunity to extend sovereignty now—with the approval of the Trump administration—in some designated parts of the disputed territories. This appears to be clear having regard to the following pronouncement by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on 18 November 2019: