President Donald Trump said Monday that while the Palestinians have already rejected his proposed Mideast peace deal, he expects they ultimately will agree to the blueprint the White House plans to announce following meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his chief challenger Blue and White leader Benny Gantz.
The meetings come just a month before Netanyahu and Gantz are set to face off in national elections for the third time in less than a year, and a day before the official rollout of the peace plan.
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But Trump said he expects that while the Palestinians will say no to the plan he's expected to publicly release Tuesday, they will quietly be negotiating.
"It's something they should want," Trump said in the Oval Office with Netanyahu. "They probably won't want it initially. I think in the end they will. I think in the end they're going to want it. It's very good for them."
Trump called the proposal a great "opportunity" but wouldn't discuss further details, noting that its release has long been delayed because of the political situation in Israel.
"We're going to show a plan. It's been worked on by everybody and we'll see whether or not it catches hold. If it does that would be great and if it doesn't, we can live with it too. But I think it might have a chance," he said.
The proposal is expected to be very favorable to Israel, and Netanyahu has hailed it as a chance to "make history" and define Israel's final borders.
"We are not going to pass it by," Netanyahu told Trump when the two met Monday at the White House. This is the "opportunity of the century," he said.
Netanyahu also praised the American leader for his tough stance on Iran. "When you came into office, Iran was on the march. Because of your leadership, Iran is now on the run. You've withdrawn from the dangerous nuclear deal. You've slapped on tremendous sanctions. Two weeks ago you took out the most dangerous terrorist on the planet," referring to the assassination of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, who was the head of the Quds Forces that is engaged in destabilizing activity in the region.
