Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday announced that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his main political rival Benny Gantz would visit Washington next week to discuss the "prospect of peace" with the Palestinians, with Israeli officials saying the terms of the administration's peace plan include highly favorable terms for Israel.
The dramatic announcement, made after a meeting with Netanyahu, raised speculation that the White House is finally preparing to unveil its long-awaited Mideast peace plan after numerous delays.
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"We just completed a conversation about plans for next week," Pence said after meeting the Israeli leader at the US Embassy in Jerusalem. "President Trump asked me to extend an invitation to Prime Minister Netanyahu to come to the White House next week to discuss regional issues as well as the prospect of peace here in the Holy Land."
He said Netanyahu had asked that his chief opponent, Blue and White Chairman Benny Gantz, also be invited and that both men had agreed to come.
Netanyahu said he "gladly" accepted the invitation.
"We have had no better friend than President Trump," he said. "With this invitation, I think that the president is seeking to give Israel the peace and security that it deserves."
Channel 12 News, citing Israeli officials, said the plan was expected to be extremely favorable toward Israel, and offer it control over large parts of Judea and Samaria.
Pence made no mention of the Palestinians, who have already preemptively rejected the plan, accusing the White House of being unfairly biased toward Israel.
Pence was among dozens of world leaders in Jerusalem on Thursday for the World Holocaust Forum.
Israel Hayom reporting suggests that the much-anticipated White House peace plan may be shared with Israeli officials next week during the visit to Washington.
Officials say the plan includes a provision that would allow immediate Israeli annexation of the Jordan Valley and on various Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria, although the White House has not confirmed any specific detail.
The plan, according to the officials, also endorses the idea of a Palestinian state with limited sovereignty, meaning Israel would have ultimate security control. The Palestinians would have to meet eight conditions before the plan would go into effect, the officials said, without elaborating.
Although the White House has yet to confirm this, Israel Hayom reporting based on conversations with senior officials in both countries suggest that President Donald Trump has given his peace team, led by Senior White House Adviser Jared Kushner, the green light to make the plan public in a ceremony next week in the US.
Shortly after Pence made his remarks the White House released the following statement: "President Donald J. Trump will welcome Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel to the White House on January 28, 2020. LTG. (Res.) MK Benjamin Gantz, Blue and White Chairman, has also accepted the President's invitation to come to Washington. The United States and Israel are strong partners, and the Prime Minister's visit is an opportunity to discuss our shared regional and national security interests."
The economic component of the peace plan was revealed in June, during a summit in Bahrain that included no officials from Israel or the Palestinian Authority.
The White House has consistently said that the political part will only be revealed if both sides are ready, and has delayed its publication because of the ongoing gridlock in Israel's Knesset.
Israel is heading for a third election in less than a year this coming March, after two elections ended with no clear winner.
