Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's main coalition partner, Benny Gantz, signaled his opposition on Monday to advance a plan to apply sovereignty to parts of Judea and Samaria under the provisions of the Trump administration's newly unveiled peace plan.
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Netanyahu was quoted by a spokesman as telling legislators from his right-wing Likud party that the steps due to be debated by the cabinet as early as Wednesday did not depend on Gantz's support.
The two uneasy partners in a coalition formed last month were both meeting visiting officials from Washington, which wants to see consensus within the Israeli government before giving a green light to Netanyahu's plans.
A Netanyahu-Gantz rift might, therefore, delay a cabinet debate on annexation that both had agreed could begin as early as July 1.
A source in Gantz's party quoted him as telling the US officials on Monday – Ambassador David Friedman and White House adviser Avi Berkowitz – that the July 1 target date was "not sacred".
In remarks broadcast later, Gantz told members of his centrist Blue and White party that "what is not corona-related will wait until the day after the virus". He has estimated the health crisis could last another 18 months.
The Trump administration's newly unveiled Vision for Peace stipulates that Washington will endorse an Israeli decision to apply sovereignty to large parts of Judea and Samaria and the Jordan Valley as long as Israel commits to holding good-faith negotiations with the Palestinians and avoid construction in certain areas that could become part of a Palestinian state. That state will only be established four years after negotiations begin and only if the Palestinians fully renounce terrorism and carry out major reforms, and only if they are no longer considered a threat to Israel.
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International opposition has mounted in the past few weeks, with Palestinian leaders, the United Nations, European powers and Arab countries allied with Israel all denouncing the planned move.
The United Nations' top human rights official, Michelle Bachelet, urged Israel on Monday to scrap its plans entirely, saying: "Annexation is illegal. Period."
The Israeli Foreign Ministry accused Bachelet of bias and said in a statement that it was not surprising that she had made her remarks before "any decision has been made".
Addressing Likud lawmakers, Netanyahu said Blue and White was "not the decisive factor this way or the other", according to a spokesman. Netanyahu appeared to be alluding to support for annexation from ultra-Orthodox and far-right legislators.
The US Embassy could not immediately be reached for comment.
