President Donald Trump will decide this week whether his administration will release the much-awaited Middle East peace plan before Israel’s March 2nd Knesset election, or whether the administration will wait until after Israel’s third election in less than a year, Channel 13 reported Sunday night.
According to both Israeli and American officials, the president has yet to discuss the issue with his team handling the Mideast peace plan – which has been dubbed the “Deal of the Century”, adding that a number of factors this week will determine the timing of the plan’s release.
The Trump administration has already held off on releasing the plan for over a year, delayed by two Israeli general elections in 2019.
Now, President Trump is considering whether to wait for Israel’s third election, set for March 2nd, along with the formation of a new government.
While the US in the past has assiduously avoided having the release of the peace plan interfere with internal Israeli politics, administration officials fear that further delays could make progress on the deal difficult in the midst of this year’s presidential election.
American and Israeli officials say President Trump’s decision will be determined in part by developments in congressional Democrats’ bid to remove Trump from office following his impeachment in the House of Representatives.
In addition, the decision will likely be influenced partially by meetings between Trump, his senior adviser Jared Kushner, and a number of world leaders taking part in this week’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
A third factor which will influence Trump’s decision is Kushner’s planned trip to Jerusalem, set to begin this Wednesday, for the Fifth World Holocaust Forum.
Kushner is expected to meet with both Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his election opponent, Blue and White chief Benny Gantz.
According to the report, Netanyahu is hoping for an early release of the peace plan, while Gantz has opposed an early release, on the grounds that it would constitute election interference.
