Trump To Unveil Israeli-Palestinian Plan In Netanyahu, Gantz Visits

Washington, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Jan, 2020 ) :President Donald Trump dives into Israel's tense election Monday by hosting both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and rival Benny Gantz ahead of unveiling a "peace plan" already rejected by the Palestinians.

The president, overshadowed by his impeachment trial in the Senate and a difficult reelection campaign, has a packed schedule both Monday and Tuesday taking him deep into Israel's turbulent politics.

Israel goes to the polls in a little over a month, with Netanyahu's right-wing Likud and Gantz's centrist Blue and White party currently running neck-and-neck.

On Monday, Trump greets both men separately for Oval Office talks. Then, on Tuesday, he again hosts Netanyahu for what is expected to be the official rolling out of the White House's long-awaited Israeli-Palestinian peace plan.

While the plan -- the latest iteration in decades of so-far failed US attempts to resolve the conflict -- already faces strong criticism, Trump's friend "Bibi" Netanyahu could be an early beneficiary.

A peace plan favoring the Israeli side in the conflict -- as critics say the text will show -- would demonstrate yet again that Netanyahu enjoys the US president's near-unquestioning support.

Trump has already thrown Netanyahu a string of previous political presents.

These include breaking with international diplomatic consensus to recognize the city of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which were seized from neighboring Syria, and ending opposition to Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land.

This time, he'll be presenting what the administration calls a peace plan and standing alongside for joint remarks to the press with Netanyahu on Tuesday.

For a US president impeached for abuse of office and an Israeli prime minister fighting corruption charges, the pomp of a White House visit and the weighty matter of trying to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will be welcome changes of conversation.

Trump has repeatedly cast himself as the most "pro-Israeli" American president in history.

That's a hugely popular stance among the evangelical Christian voters forming a key layer of his base, and this latest initiative will only burnish Trump's reputation just when he needs to shore up political support.