Trump set to give Israeli leaders 6 weeks to get peace plan 'going'

White House sources say the invitation of both Netanyahu and Gantz is an attempt to 'depoliticize' the U.S. president's efforts to resolve one of the world's most intractable problems; 'They say that's the hardest of all deals, I love doing deals,' says Trump
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U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to give Israeli leaders six weeks to 'get the peace plan going,' as he is set to reveal the details of the long-delayed proposal on Monday.
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  • Trump will hold separate, back-to-back meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz, the head of the centrist Blue and White Party, who is Netanyahu's rival in March 2 elections.
    2 View gallery
    Benny Gantz and Benjamin Netanyahu arrive in Washington
    Benny Gantz and Benjamin Netanyahu arrive in Washington
    Benny Gantz and Benjamin Netanyahu arrive in Washington
    (Photo: Elad Malka, Itamar Eichner)
    On Tuesday, Trump will deliver joint remarks with Netanyahu at the White House, where the president may reveal details of his peace proposal.
    The two days of foreign policy meetings will provide Trump with a contrast from the trial in the Republican-led Senate that is weighing articles of impeachment against him approved by the Democratic-led House of Representatives.
    But whether it truly will jumpstart the long-stalled effort to bring Israelis and Palestinians together is far from certain.
    Palestinians have refused to engage the Trump administration on the effort and roundly denounced a $50-billion economic revival plan it set forth last July to lift the Palestinian and neighboring Arab state economies.
    Palestinians fear the plan will dash their hopes for an independent state in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.
    The White House hope was that if Trump could get the support of both Netanyahu and Gantz for the plan, it would help provide some momentum. A U.S. official said Trump wants to know both Netanyahu and Gantz are on board with the plan before announcing it.
    Trump's message to both: "You have six weeks to get this (plan) going, if you want it," the official said.
    2 View gallery
    נשיא ארה"ב דונלד טראמפ ב פורום הכלכלי העולמי ב דאבוס ב שווייץ
    נשיא ארה"ב דונלד טראמפ ב פורום הכלכלי העולמי ב דאבוס ב שווייץ
    President Donald Trump
    (Photo: Reuters)
    Having both leaders present helps take the politics out of the effort, said a U.S. source familiar with internal deliberations.
    "The rationale...is it depoliticizes this to the point that, no matter what happens on March 2, the two leaders of the two largest parties can potentially be supportive," the source said.
    The Trump plan is the product of three years' effort by senior advisers Jared Kushner and Avi Berkowitz, as well as Jason Greenblatt, who left the government last autumn.
    Trump last year had hoped to release his secret proposal aimed at triggering negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, but was forced to delay it as Netanyahu struggled to form a governing coalition.
    The proposal, more than 50 pages long, aims to take on some of the most difficult issues separating the two, such as the status of Jerusalem. Palestinians want the city's eastern part as their future capital.
    Trump, talking to reporters on Air Force One on Thursday, said he was eager to release his plan.
    "They say that's the hardest of all deals. I love doing deals," he said.
    Netanyahu, a veteran right-wing leader, faces political and legal troubles at home as he heads for his third election in less than a year, and was indicted on criminal charges in November. He denies any wrongdoing.
    Netanyahu's principal domestic political rival, Gantz, a centrist former general, last week lifted his objection to having the peace plan published before Israel's March election. He had previously seen it as interference in the vote.
    "I am looking forward to meeting the president - a president of utmost friendliness to the State of Israel - on a matter that is very important for the State of Israel - with national, strategic and security ramifications," Gantz told reporters as he landed in Washington on Sunday.
    "We will hold a back-and-forth, get to know one another, and take it from there."
    But Trump, preoccupied with November's re-election bid, faces his own political clock, and can ill afford to wait months for Israel to decide its next prime minister, a U.S. official said.
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    8.
    The opportunity of the century
    Without knowing President Trump's plan yet, it is necessary to recognize that the unbeatable stubbornness of the PLO, every day fed back with the empty international support it receives, is the best asset for POTUS to take his plan forward. As if that were not enough, the chosen moment is the most appropriate. ● The EU, which next Friday will lose the UK —its second most important partner—, will have enough to prevent two more partners from announcing that they also want to leave. Without a significant foreign trade, with scarce economic resources and lacking a powerful supranational army, now more than ever the EU needs US military support to deter Russia. Something similar happens to Sunni Islam in the face of the growing Shiite threat. ● We can be sure that Trump will not bother to convince the crazy Ramallah dotard of the goodness of his plan. The EU and the Arab League will do it, and they will be much more eloquent and persuasive than the American leader.
    Cefn Golau| 01.27.20
    30
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    7.
    If Reuters or Associated Pals want West Bank,Jerusalem,Gaza
    Maybe Palestinians take that as a starter but no more than that but the Western Press and the EU prefer deluding themselves and getting the Palestinians some freebies. Palestinians want Muslim rule over the West Bank and Israel. That's their peace plan. A 2 state solution for them is just political correctness to get Western and media support.
    Sam| 01.27.20
    21
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    6.
    Oh and let's not forget,,,
    "War Crimes" for these 2 Israeli leaders in the 2014 Protective Edge massacres of over 2,000 men, women and children. God will not forget.
    Edna| 01.27.20
    36
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