Gantz Departs for Washington for Personal Meeting With Trump on Mideast Peace Deal

Benny Gantz, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's chief political rival, departed Sunday morning for Washington ahead of his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday.

Gantz and Trump are expected to discuss the diplomatic portion of the U.S. administration's Mideast peace plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

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Hijacking the Holocaust for Putin, politics and powerHaaretz Weekly Ep. 57

Asked by the Kan public broadcaster whether he will discuss the long-awaited plan with Trump or wait until after Israel's general March 2 election, Gantz replied "We'll hear about the plan from Trump, we'll talk, but what will be said inside the room will remain in the room."

On Saturday Gantz announced that he had accepted Trump's personal invitation to Washington to discuss the so-called "deal of the century", which is supposed to be officially unveiled on Tuesday.

Netanyahu was scheduled to meet with Trump on Tuesday, however, following Gantz's announcement, senior officials said Netanyahu would meet Trump on Monday as well.  

Netanyahu also departed for the U.S. on Sunday at 2:00 P.M. Israel time and is expected to land in Washington in the early morning hours of Monday. Thus, he may still be airborne as some details of the peace plan are revealed by the Trump administration prior to the meeting.

"Five years ago I appeared before congress in Washington because I had to stand up to a plan developed by an American president," Netanyahu said in reference to the Iran nuclear deal signed between former President Barack Obama and Teheran.