The difference between presenting the government with a motion seeking to apply Israeli sovereignty over the Jordan Valley and in Judea and Samaria, or parts thereof, and not doing so is tantamount to choosing between a real act of leadership and just another campaign promise.
True, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has unexpectedly found himself embroiled in a difference of opinions in the White House, but it is precisely because of this new situation that it now appears that he has no choice. Though American coordination with Israel may not be as perfect as one would wish, Netanyahu's political fate is in the balance and therefore he must act.
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Prior to this development, the political situation was such that nothing would have happened had the government refrained from pursuing this move until after the March 2 elections.
During the September 2019 election campaign, Netanyahu's only promise was that if he won, he would annex the Jordan Valley. But now, with the release of the Trump administration's "deal of the century," things have changed: This vague campaign promise has turned into a practical, tangible possibility, and sending expectations sky-high.
The excitement within the Settlement Movement was tremendous. Champagne bottles were popped open, while right-wing journalists broke out in spontaneous dance before the White House.
To downplay this event and its framing once again as part of an amorphous future commitment, may bring about voter disappointment, which will show in the polls on Election Day, in. This, to say the least, would not bode well for the Likud and its leader.
While Netanyahu wavers as to his next steps in this new and perplexing reality, the Blue and White party has decided, following deliberations and hesitations, to adopt the plan in full. The party is seeking to create the impression that there are no essential differences in the political outlook of its leader, Benny Gantz, and Netanyahu, and that the only distinction between them is that if Gantz is elected, he will be free to address the issue while Netanyahu, if elected, will have to simultaneously stand trial in three different corruption cases.
New Right leader Naftali Bennett, on the other hand, has gained an opportunity to highlight the differences between himself and the other right-wing contenders. The faction he heads, Yamina – an alliance of the New Right, National Union, and Habayit Hayehudi parties – has adopted the plan's favorable elements, namely, the annexation it allows Israel to pursue, while emphatically rejecting the rest.
If Netanyahu does not submit the plan for government approval, Yamina will have received a major boost for a right-wing campaign that will attack the Likud for its indecision.
The Labor-Gesher-Meretz alliance will also benefit from this opportunity, as it allows it to underscore the difference between its positions and those of Blue and White; they will publicly reject Trump's peace plan, in all its aspects. The battle within the anti-Netanyahu camp is a tough and bloody one, in which Labor-Gesher-Meretz, as separate parties, has so far lost to Blue and White. Now they have a second chance.
