Washington - US President Donald Trump was set to host two
rival Israeli leaders at the White House on Monday to discuss a
Middle East peace plan, one that has stirred controversy even before
its official publication.
Trump was also scheduled to conduct separate meetings with caretaker
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, of the ruling, conservative Likud
party, at 11 am (1600 GMT), and former military chief Benny Gantz, of
the centrist Blue and White at 12:30 pm (1730 GMT).
Trump was expected to unveil the plan, which has been three years in
the making, sometime before or after a second meeting with Netanyahu
on Tuesday, although the White House has published no official time.
Critics charge that the timing of the expected unveiling - ahead of
March 2 Israeli elections and as Israel's parliament is scheduled to
debate Netanyahu's request for immunity against corruption charges on
Tuesday - amounted to US meddling in internal Israeli politics in
favour of Netanyahu.
Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz arrives to address media in Tel Aviv, Israel, in November 2019. A blueprint the White House is rolling out to resolve the decades-long conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians is as much about politics as it is about peace. File picture: Oded Balilty/AP
Palestinians have furiously dismissed Trump's "Deal of the Century,"
as it has been dubbed in Israel, out of hand, since, according to
reports, they would not receive East Jerusalem as the capital of
their future state.
Israel's biggest-selling Yediot Ahronot daily reported on Monday
that, under the Trump plan, the Palestinians also would have no
shared border with any Arab country, except for the so-called
Philadelphi Road between Gaza and Egypt. Additionally, Israel's West
Bank settlement blocs would receive US recognition.
Israel captured the West Bank from Jordan and the Gaza Strip from
Egypt in the 1967 Six-Day War.