Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's arrival at the White House on Monday was no different than the dozens of other times when he visited it over his 14 years as prime minister. He was welcomed by US President Donald Trump just as he had always been welcomed by presidents Obama and Clinton, though they held a different worldview.
Still, this is no ordinary visit to Washington as on Tuesday evening (Israel time), the Trump administration will present its much-anticipated Middle East peace plan.
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The Palestinians have already announced they will reject it, but as Trump reiterated, "Life goes on," meaning the ball will be in Israel's court and its alone to move.
Under these circumstances, as Israel's first Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion said, the question is not what the gentiles will say, but what the Jews will do. The answer is that a monumental, Ben-Gurion-level decision is required, to declare the Jordan Valley and the settlement blocs in Judea and Samaria, as Israeli.
This is an opportunity that will not return.
The Trump administration has given Israel a virtual carte blanche. The majority of the Israeli public supports sovereignty moves; the Arab world has voiced no real objection, and the European Union is weak – but just in case, Netanyahu has fostered allies in key states, so as to avoid European sanctions.
The PLO has never been weaker; Hamas in the Gaza Strip is deterred, and Iran and its proxies are still reeling from the assassination of Quds Force Commander Gen. Qassem Soleimani earlier this month.
In short, domestic, regional and international conditions have never been better for sovereignty moves. But this window of opportunity may soon close and if we do not use it now, it may not open again for decades.
This is an election year in the United States and Israel both. A month from now, the Right may no longer be in power. By late 2020, Trump – a brave and unique president - may miss out on a second term in the White House. And even if he wins, as the US has a two-term limit on the presidency, we cannot be sure the winds will blow in Israel's favor in the future.
Of course, over time, the Palestinian national movement may grow stronger, especially if PA President Mahmoud Abbas is succeeded by a strong young leader. Iran has yet to say the final word, and there is no telling what the EU, which may again turn Israel into its punching bag, may do.
This is why Netanyahu must exhaust the move and apply sovereignty to the Jordan Valley and the settlement block in Judea and Samaria. There is no point in making do with provisional steps, for which we will be made to pay and will not yield the maximum result. You have to go all the way.
Trump's peace plan does not give Israel its full wishlist, as it includes consent – such as it is – for the establishment of a Palestinian state, but this commitment will amount to nothing over the Palestinians' refusal to cooperate with the plan.
This is why any opposition to the plan from right-wing parties is fundamentally wrong.
Those arguing that Netanyahu, being at the head of a caretaker government, cannot pursue such far-reaching moves would do well to remember that they said nothing in 2005, when then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon railroaded democracy en route to the disengagement from Gaza.
The issue of annexation has a consensus within the Israeli public. Even Blue and White leader Benny Gantz called to apply sovereignty in the Jordan Valley sooner rather than later. He is right, for if not now – when?
