IDF to attack Rafah during Ramadan if hostage deal not reached: Benny Gantz
The Minister, who was the former Chief of Armed staff, however, said that there were signs of a hostage deal coming through.
The Minister, who was the former Chief of Armed staff, however, said that there were signs of a hostage deal coming through.
The Palestinian-Israeli peace process has been stalled since April 2014, after the US had sponsored the peace negotiations for nine months without making any tangible progress due to deep differences on borders, security, and Israeli settlement.
Sunday’s meeting between Benny Gantz and Mahmoud Abbas signaled a possible shift of direction after the near-complete breakdown of communication between Abbas and Israeli leaders in recent years.
Mr Gantz, too, is none too fortuitously placed with his Blue and White party having splintered over his decision to enter a coalition.
The annexation plan was accepted with widespread condemnations by the Palestinians, most of the Arab world, and the international community.
On Saturday, Israeli police said the protest a day earlier was “illegal” because demonstrators blocked the roads.
Netanyahu was sworn back into office as head of a rare national unity government, is expected to attend the opening session of the trial, which is being held at Jerusalem District Court.
Gantz, a former armed forces chief, will be Netanyahu's defence minister and "alternate Prime Minister", a new position that Netanyahu will hold when Gantz takes the helm.
The move came amidst discontent by some seven senior Likud lawmakers who are close associates of Netanyahu and were not assigned by him for ministerial positions in the new government.
According to the deal reached between Gantz and Netanyahu, Israel could begin to move on annexation of parts of the West Bank as early as July as part of the implementation of the US peace plan for Israelis and Palestinians.
