The Trump administration's so-called "deal of the century" for Israeli-Palestinian peace will open up a historic window of opportunity for the Jewish state, senior Israeli officials said on Thursday night.
US Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday announced that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his main political rival Benny Gantz would visit Washington next week to discuss the American peace initiative, with Israeli officials saying the terms of the administration's peace plan include highly favorable terms for Israel.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
"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."
Netanyahu said he "gladly" accepted the invitation.
According to the senior officials, Israel was on the precipice of a historic development on the scale of the Six-Day War that could very well change the borders of the country – if the government makes the necessary decisions.
If Israel applies its sovereignty over the Jordan Valley and parts of Judea and Samaria, as the US administration will apparently allow it to do, the officials said, it would mean the end to the idea of a Palestinian state and "a death blow to the Palestinian national movement."
One Israeli official said the "deal of the century" would essentially not require Israel to make any concessions. According to the information currently available to Israeli officials, for the time being, the US administration doesn't expect the Israeli government to recognize a Palestinian state, only to express willingness to discuss it in the future, and only if the Palestinians meet the American demands.
As of Friday morning, the Palestinian Authority had not been apprised of the peace plan's roll-out and PA President Mahmoud Abbas had not been invited to Washington.
Ashraf al-Ajrami, who was the Minister of Prisoners Affairs for the Palestinian Authority between 2007 and 2009, said Friday morning there would be a harsh response from the PA.
"The PA will cease all its commitments under the Oslo Accords; it will also sever security coordination [with Israel]. There could even be an escalation [of violence]," he warned.
A senior Palestinian official close to Abbas told Kan News on Thursday night that the purpose behind unveiling the American peace plan at this juncture was to save Netanyahu politically and strengthen him ahead of the upcoming March 2 general election in Israel.
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One en route to the Miami area for a political event, Trump said the Palestinians might react negatively to his plan at first, but that "it's actually very positive for them."
"It's a great plan," said Trump, who will meet with Netanyahu at the White House on Tuesday. "It's a plan that really would work."
Abbas' spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh, said, "We warn Israel and the US administration not to cross any red lines."
Trump indicated his administration had spoken "briefly" to the Palestinians and would speak to them again "in a period of time."
Another PA spokesman said, "We will reject any proposal that violates international law."
One senior Israeli official said the ball would very soon be in Netanyahu's court. He will be the one to decide whether to take full advantage of the Trump administration's expected sovereignty proposal, meaning applying maximal Israeli sovereignty as early as the coming weeks or wait until after the election is decided to begin implementing sovereignty.
With that, Israeli officials were aware that the American initiative could lead to a security escalation in Judea and Samaria and Gaza. Consequently, Defense Minister Naftali Bennett on Thursday night ordered the IDF and other security services to prepare for any development on the ground. Israeli security forces, Channel 12 News reported, were bracing for unrest following Friday morning prayers on the Temple Mount.
There are also concerns that Jordan will respond harshly to the developments – a matter which Israeli officials said is being handled very delicately.
