The unity government agreement finalized on Monday evening by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White Party leader Benny Gantz allows Israel to promote the annexation of parts of Judea and Samaria as early as July, sources privy to the details of the deal told Israel Hayom.
According to Article 29 of the 14-page agreement, Netanyahu, who under the rotation deal with Gantz will retain the premiership for the next 18 months, “will be able to present the agreement reached with the U.S. on the application of sovereignty [in Judea and Samaria and the Jordan Valley] for the approval of the government and the Knesset starting July 1, 2020.”
The Trump administration presented its Middle East peace plan in late January. Gantz was previously hesitant to support any annexation move, but under the unity deal, his party has pledged to vote with the coalition on the issue.
Moreover, the deal states that both leaders “will act in full agreement with the U.S., including on the issue of the maps, and in dialogue with the international community.”
The Trump administration has also linked Israel’s sovereignty moves in Judea and Samaria and the Jordan Valley with Israeli support for a demilitarized Palestinian state.
Netanyahu had already agreed to the issue in principle in his 2009 speech at Bar-Ilan University, but has refrained from endorsing it in the 11 years that have since passed,
This article first appeared in Israel Hayom.