22 Jan 2019; MEMO: US President Donald Trump’s special adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner is due to arrive in Israel today to attend the Fifth World Holocaust Forum and discuss announcing the “deal of the century”, Axios reported.
Kushner is expected to meet with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, head of Likud, and his rival Benny Gantz, head of the Blue and White (Kahol Lavan) party.
Barak Ravid of Israel’s Channel 13 wrote for Axios that Netanyahu wants the White House to present the plan in order to shift the focus of his campaign away from his corruption cases.
Meanwhile, Ravid said, Gantz wants the White House to wait and has even argued that releasing the peace plan ahead of the March election would amount to electoral interference.
Ravid reported White House officials saying that Trump has not made a decision, but did not deny that one could be coming soon.
The US peace plan for the Middle East, dubbed the “deal of the century”, consists of two parts – economic and political. The former was announced last year during a conference in the Bahraini capital Manama.
US officials revealed the plan would lead to a $50 billion investment, including $28 billion in the occupied West Bank and besieged Gaza Strip, while the remainder would be spent in Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon.
Palestinians rejected the deal, saying it aims to liquidate the Palestinian cause.
