Fundamental disagreements between Likud and Blue and White on the matter of applying Israeli sovereignty in the Jordan Valley are hampering unity talks. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants the new government to implement the move, but Blue and White has expressed its reservations.
According to the Trump administration's peace plan, Israel will be allowed to apply its law in the Jordan Valley, northern Dead Sea region and Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria. The move could be implemented after the joint Israeli-American mapping committee finishes drawing up the map to determine which areas become Israeli.
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The committee has convened several times to this point and continues to work on a partial basis even amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Trump administration, however, wants Israel to apply sovereignty only after a unity government with a parliamentary majority is established -- which is one of the reasons the move is still forthcoming.
In talks between Likud and Blue and White, Netanyahu and his team have raised the sovereignty issue as a central demand. According to Likud officials, "Sovereignty was a fundamental issue presented from the outset to avoid misunderstandings." It should be noted that the Trump plan, particularly the matter of Israeli sovereignty, is the crown jewel of Netanyahu's foreign policy efforts. He has said on dozens of occasions that he intends to advance the measure and has even cautioned that the historic opportunity to implement it could never return.
'Gantz doesn't oppose sovereignty'
Blue and White officials say party chairman Benny Gantz hasn't voiced opposition to the Trump plan and that from their perspective the issue has never been a problem. They said that if Netanyahu presents the initiative for the government or Knesset's approval, it would pass with the required majority because several Blue and White MKs – specifically Zvi Hauser, Yoaz Hendel and perhaps Yehiel Tropper and others – would support it. And yet over the past 24 hours Gantz's position has shifted, and in discussions on Wednesday, he presented conditions that could jeopardize the initiative.
With that, Likud officials are wondering whether Blue and White's tough stance is its final position on the matter or part of the regular ebb and flow of coalition negotiations. An official close to Gantz said the issue was indeed divisive. However, while others conceded there are still gaps between the sides, they said the issue wouldn't torpedo the formation of a government.
In the meantime, American officials are saying that Israel has a window of opportunity of just a few months to implement sovereignty within the framework of the Trump plan. The presidential election in the US will be held in November 2020, and it's unlikely the president will have the time or desire to deal with the Israeli-Palestinian issue. The coronavirus crisis is turning the US political game on its head, and under the new circumstances, it's impossible to know whether Trump will want Israel to carry out the move adjacent to the election.
