Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and PM-designate Defense Minister Benny Gantz met Friday to discuss Israel's plan to apply sovereignty to large parts of Judea and Samaria and the Jordan Valley.
While endorsed by the United States as part of President Donald Trump's Middle East peace plan, the controversial initiative has been rejected by the Palestinians and the international community, with the United Nations, European Union, and moderate Arab states warning it would doom the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
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Netanyahu, who plans to pursue the move next month, said he would do so regardless of any reservations expressed by Gantz, his partner in the national unity government.
In their meeting on Friday, Gantz reportedly stressed that any version of the plan must be thoroughly scrutinized. He reportedly urged only a small-scale implementation of the plan, despite the fact that Trump's outline allows the government to apply Israel law to 30% of Judea and Samaria.
Gantz added that any move concerning the Jordan Valley must be fully coordinated with Jordan so as not to undermine the peace treaty between the two countries.
Blue and White's leader further said that a way must be found to preserve the rights of Palestinian residents living in the areas that will undergo a status change.
Netanyahu has stated that the Palestinian communities in these areas will become "enclaves" under limited self-rule, with Israel maintaining security control.
Sources privy to the meeting told Israel Hayom that while some progress has been made, the two were still "not on the same page."
Meanwhile, Israeli Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer published an opinion piece in The Washington Post on Friday, saying that "the extension of Israeli sovereignty to certain territories in Judea and Samaria will not, as many critics suggest, destroy the two-state solution. But it will shatter the two-state illusion."
Dermer contended that applying Israeli sovereignty will open the door to a realistic two-state solution, writing, "The hard truth is that for the past 25 years, international leaders and policymakers have been unwilling to admit that they never had the Palestinians onboard for a genuine two-state solution. And in constantly moving the goalpost to get them on board, they have now lost Israelis as well."
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