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| Netanyahu, Pompeo in Lisbon, seek efforts to counter Iran's influence in Middle East |
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly ready to leave his post by May if an agreement is reached on a unity government that will prevent a third election in under a year by Wednesday's deadline, a Likud spokesman said on Friday.
According t the source, Netanyahu told reporters at a briefing in Lisbon on Thursday after a meeting with the US secretary of state Mike Pompeo that he would limit himself to six months in office, followed by a year and a half of Blue and White leader Benny Gantz as prime minister, and then Netanyahu would serve the remaining year and a half of the term if acquitted by court in the currently alleged scandal battle against him. ''The prime minister stands by the offer of the Likud's negotiating team to concede on him serving the first two years consecutively as is normal in a rotation," the Likud said in an official statement.
"This is intended to avoid unnecessary elections and bring about a wide unity government."
A Blue and White official said in response that Netanyahu has still not made the offer publicly.
Meanwhile, the Likud is preparing for an election. The Likud central committee will convene on Sunday to cancel primaries for the Likud's Knesset slate and keep the current MKs.
Former prime minister Ariel Sharon's son Gilad Sharon wrote the 120,000 Likd members on Friday, urging them to reject the proposal and let him run for Knesset.
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| Blue and White leader Benny Gantz |
While the political calculations, alliance and negotiations are ongoing within the Israeli internal political system to form a wide unity government, the Palestinian's " High National Commission for the March of Return and Breaking the Siege", which consists of several Gaza-based Palestinian groups, announced that Friday’s demonstrations will be held under the banner: “The March is Continuing.”
The commission urged Palestinians to “preserve the popular and peaceful character” of the protests, and called for wide participation in an announcement made in Gaza for Friday’s planned protests.
As’ad Judeh, a member of the commission, said that the decision came in order to refute claims that the weekly protests – which began in March 2018 – have ended.
The commission said that the protests were canceled in the past three weeks “due to the dangerous security situation,” and “in light of Netanyahu’s threats to launch a new comprehensive aggression on the Gaza Strip.”
According to unconfirmed reports in the Arab media, the Egyptians have promised a series of measures to ease restrictions imposed on the Gaza Strip in return for a long-term ceasefire.
The commission urged Palestinians to “preserve the popular and peaceful character” of the protests, and called for wide participation in an announcement made in Gaza for Friday’s planned protests.
As’ad Judeh, a member of the commission, said that the decision came in order to refute claims that the weekly protests – which began in March 2018 – have ended.
The commission said that the protests were canceled in the past three weeks “due to the dangerous security situation,” and “in light of Netanyahu’s threats to launch a new comprehensive aggression on the Gaza Strip.”
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| Palestinians protesters plan resume along Gaza-Israel border |
The commission denied reports that the cancellation of previous protests was linked to Egyptian and United Nations efforts to reach a long-term ceasefire between the Gaza-based groups and Israel. The decision to resume the weekly border protests came as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad leaders continued their discussions in Cairo with senior Egyptian intelligence officials about reaching a long-term ceasefire with Israel. The Hamas delegation is headed by Ismail Haniyeh, while the PIJ team is headed by the group’s secretary-general, Ziyad al-Nakhalah.
According to unconfirmed reports in the Arab media, the Egyptians have promised a series of measures to ease restrictions imposed on the Gaza Strip in return for a long-term ceasefire.
Earlier this week, the Palestinian daily Al-Quds claimed that the Egyptian proposal envisages a five-year ceasefire agreement between the Gaza-based groups and Israel. However, senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya was quoted on Thursday as saying that reports about an imminent ceasefire agreement with Israel are “inaccurate.”
He told the Hezbollah-affiliated newspaper Al-Akhbar that the talk about a long-term truce “or halting resistance acts against the enemy are completely untrue.” The Hamas official said that “forms of resistance may change, but we won’t stop resisting the enemy.
Hayya said that the weekly protests will continue because they are a “form of resistance that drains the enemy.” A truce with Israel, he added, won’t “tie the hands of the resistance, and certainly won’t prevent it from responding to any aggression.”
According to Hayya, the Palestinian terror groups in the Gaza Strip have enough rockets to be fired at Israel for several months in any war. He also denied that there was any progress concerning a possible prisoner exchange agreement with Israel.
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