Likud officials say Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his office appealed to the White House on Wednesday to get the green light to advance a move of applying Israeli sovereignty to the Jordan Valley before the March 2020 elections, Kan 11 News reports
According to those same senior officials, this is also why Netanyahu did not announce his intention to bring the issue of annexation to the Knesset next week.
On Tuesday evening, Blue and White leader Benny Gantz said that he supports the annexation of the Jordan Valley, but will only do so after the elections and with international coordination.
In the tweet, he said that “the Jordan Valley is the eastern protective wall of the State of Israel in any future scenario. After the elections, we will work to apply sovereignty in an agreed national move and in coordination with the international community.”
Member of Yamina, MK Bezalel Smotrich criticized Gantz and Netanyahu’s need for international cooperation in a radio interview with Army Radio on Wednesday morning, saying that “it’s kind of like eating steak in coordination with vegan organizations. You don’t have to wait for international approval, you have to set facts on the ground.” He continued his argument, saying that “if the Knesset convenes anyway, the proposal can be approved by a large majority as early as Tuesday. We have an extraordinary window of opportunity.” Yamina leader Naftali Bennett echoed Smotrich’s sentiments in a tweet on Wednesday, saying that “I call on @netanyahu to bring a government vote this coming Sunday on the matter of Jordan Valley sovereignty, and then bring the order to the Knesset’s approval on Tuesday. Only tangible actions will decide the matter.”
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