Israel’s embattled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition leader Benny Gantz have been invited to the White House to discuss President Trump’s long-awaited peace plan for the Middle East.
Trump said Thursday he is looking forward to meeting with the Israeli leaders next week.
“Reports about details and timing of our closely-held peace plan are purely speculative,” Trump, 73, tweeted.
The United States looks forward to welcoming Prime Minister @Netanyahu & Blue & White Chairman @Gantzbe to the @WhiteHouse next week. Reports about details and timing of our closely-held peace plan are purely speculative.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 23, 2020
Vice President Mike Pence said Trump invited Netanyahu to Washington, D.C., and that Netanyahu asked for Gantz also to be invited to the White House.
The Trump administration has been considering releasing the Israeli-Palestinian peace plan before Israel’s elections on March 2. The White House has already postponed the release of the plan twice, saying that it did not want to interfere in the Israeli elections.
Netanyahu, the longest-serving Israeli prime minister, is seeking a fourth term amid allegations of corruption. Netanyahu, 70, was indicted in November on charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust. He has denied any wrongdoing.
The March election will be the country’s third election in a year after the earlier elections, in April and September, failed to give Netanyahu or Gantz a majority to form a viable government.
