Israel and the Middle East News Update Tuesday, June 30 Headlines: ● Palestinians Say Ready for Direct Talks with Israel ● Gantz: Date for West Bank Annexation 'Not Set in Stone' ● Unity Government Struggling to Survive, Insiders Say ● Annexation: Leading Republican Lawmakers Remain Silent ● UN: Annexation Plan is Illegal, Whether Limited or Unlimited ● Public Gatherings Capped Amid Fears of Second Wave ● Danon to UNSC: Extend the Iran Arms Embargo ● Israel Explores for Gas Near Disputed Waters with Lebanon Commentary: ● Yedioth Ahronoth: “With an Eye to November 3” − By Shimrit Meir ● Yedioth Ahronoth: “The Way to Destroy the Zionist Vision” − By Ben-Dror Yemini S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace 1725 I St NW Suite 300, Washington, DC 20006 The Hon. Robert Wexler, President News Excerpts June 30, 2020 Times of Israel Palestinians Say Ready for Direct Talks with Israel The Palestinians are prepared to renew long-stalled peace talks with Israel and to agree to "minor" territorial concessions. A Palestinian Authority text sent to the international peacemaking Quartet that says the Palestinians are "ready to resume direct bilateral negotiations where they stopped," in 2014. The PA said the counterproposal would be withdrawn if Israel went ahead with annexation "of any part of the Palestinian territory". "We are ready to have our state with a limited number of weapons and a powerful police force to uphold law and order," it said, adding that it would accept an international force such as NATO, mandated by the UN, to monitor compliance with any eventual peace treaty. The text also proposes "minor border changes that will have been mutually agreed, based on the borders of June 4, 1967", when Israeli forces captured the West Bank. See also ‘‘Palestinian Leaders Struggle to Mobilize Street Against Annexation Plans’’ (Times of Israel) I24 News Gantz: Date for West Bank Annexation 'Not Set in Stone' Alternate Prime Minister and Defense Minister Benny Gantz said that the July 1 date slated for Israel’s West Bank annexation bid is “not set in stone.” The remark was made during a meeting with a US delegation team, including Ambassador to Israel David Friedman and US special envoy Avi Berkowitz, who arrived in Israel last week for talks ahead of July 1, Hebrew-language outlet N12 reported. “Israeli citizens are concerned over the coronavirus and expect a thorough and immediate management of the situation,” Gantz stipulated, cited by N12. “Before promoting diplomatic moves, we need to aid Israeli citizens to succeed in returning to work and respectfully earn a living again,” he added. See also ‘‘After Gantz Pours Cold Water on Annexation, Netanyahu Says Issue Not up to Him’’ (Ha’aretz) Israel Hayom Unity Government Struggling to Survive, Insiders Say With only a few weeks under its belt, Israel's hard-earned national unity government is struggling to survive, political insiders told Israel Hayom, citing the growing distrust between leading parties Likud and Blue and White. As tensions between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White leader Benny Gantz grow, every incident – big or small – seems to fray the coalition further. Under Israeli law, if the government is unable to pass the annual budget within 100 days of its formation the Knesset must dissolve, triggering elections. A Likud official warned Sunday that "the way they [Blue and White] are conducting themselves will make it very difficult for this government to carry on. Will the government fall apart? Probably not in the coming weeks, but I'm not sure it will make it through the winter session." 2 Times of Israel Annexation: Leading Republican Lawmakers Remain Silent As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu moves ahead with plans to begin annexing parts of the West Bank, possibly as soon as Wednesday, several leading GOP lawmakers are staying silent on the move that Democrats have rallied against and some Republicans have embraced. While the Democratic Party has been increasingly unified in recent weeks in voicing opposition to the move, GOP lawmakers have taken a different approach: Either they have come out in favor of annexation— or have stayed silent on it. a number of Republican leaders and high-profile GOP senators have not yet taken a public stance. The offices of Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, Utah Senator Mitt Romney and Idaho Senator James Risch, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, all declined requests from The Times of Israel to weigh in on Netanyahu’s annexation plans. See also ‘‘AIPAC Opposes a Letter Against Annexation Spearheaded by AOC’’ (Jerusalem Post) Jerusalem Post UN: Annexation Plan is Illegal, Whether Limited or Unlimited Any Israeli annexation plan is illegal irrespective of whether it includes all or only some of the settlements, UNHCHR Michele Bachelet clarified. “Annexation is illegal. Period,” Bachelet said. She spoke out amid reports that Israel weighed assuaging international and Palestinian objections to annexation by moving forward with a partial plan. This would likely include the application of sovereignty over areas of high settler-population density, known as the blocs, rather than advancing an initiative that would annex the entire 30% of the West Bank. Yamina MK and former justice minister Ayelet Shaked told Army Radio earlier that the Jordan Valley would be excluded from Israel’s annexation plans. Netanyahu “has given up on the Jordan Valley” because of the opposition from the Arab world, she said. The Foreign Ministry accused Bachelet yet once again of politicizing her office to attack Israel. See also ‘‘Netanyahu Said to Hint Annexation Won’t Begin July 1, as He’d Previously Pledged’’ (Times of Israel) Ha’aretz Public Gatherings Capped Amid Fears of Second Wave Israel and the West Bank are dealing with a renewed outbreak of the coronavirus, leading to proposals and measures intended to curb its spread and mitigate the economic ramifications of the crisis by both the Israeli and the Palestinian authorities. 24,276 people in Israel have so far tested positive for the coronavirus; 319 people have died. In the West Bank and East Jerusalem, 2,025 people tested positive; eight people have died. In the Gaza Strip, 72 people were diagnosed, and one person has died. The Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee has backtracked on its plan to promote a temporary bill allowing digital tracking of coronavirus patients, after opposition lawmakers blocked the initiative. According to sources familiar with the details, the opposition’s initiative was led by Eli Avidar of Yisrael Beiteinu. See also ‘‘Digging into Data: Is Israel Back to Square One with Coronavirus’’ (I24 News) 3 Jerusalem Post Danon to UNSC: Extend the Iran Arms Embargo Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon warned the United Nations’ Security Council that once the arms embargo on Iran would be lifted, the Islamic Republic could continue importing or exporting a variety of weapon systems, including tanks, artillery systems, warships, submarines, aircraft, missiles and other arms. Special representative Brian Hook is expected to meet Prime Minister Netanyahu, as the US and Israel are working closely to extend the arms embargo. The embargo is set to expire on October 18, and the US and Israel are working closely to extend it. Danon urged the Security Council in his statement “to act swiftly and with great resolve to respond to the Iranian regime’s violations, by using all means necessary to extend the arms embargo on Iran beyond the current October deadline.” He highlighted Iran’s violations, including transfers of “illicit arms to its proxies in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Yemen and recently even to Libya.” This weaponry, which is “freely transported throughout the Middle East and used by armed militias and terrorist groups, poses a strategic threat not only to Israel, but to the entire region,” his statement reads. See also ‘‘Pompeo to Address U.N. Security Council on Iran Arms Embargo’’ (Reuters) Jerusalem Post Israel Explores for Gas Near Disputed Waters with Lebanon Lebanese President Michel Aoun warned that Israel's intent to begin explorations for natural gas and oil in waters known as Block 72 is "extremely dangerous and will complicate the situation further," according to Lebanon's National News Agency. Block 72 is located near Lebanon's Block 9 gas fields, where Lebanon plans to begin explorations for natural gas and oil within the next few months. Block 72 and Block 9 are located along the border of disputed waters between Lebanon and Israel. Last Tuesday, Israel's Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz approved the beginning of the competitive process for granting a natural gas and oil exploration license for Block 72. Preliminary investigations in the area have found potential gas fields similar geologically to other fields in the area, such as the Tamar field. The competitive process will continue from June until September. The license will require the selected company to carry out all necessary operations and surveys in order to begin drilling. Aoun called on Lebanon's Supreme Defense Council to convene to discuss the Israeli announcement, according to the Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Manar news. 4 Yedioth Ahronoth – June 30, 2020 With an Eye to November 3 By Shimrit Meir ● Despite all of the attendant fear mongering about its repercussions, the annexation story, from the outset, was and has remained mainly about what the Jews are ultimately going to decide to do. The Arabs, who are weak and divided, are supporting actors in this Israeli- American play. For anyone looking at the situation through the lenses of seizing opportunities, there has never been a better opportunity than the one currently at hand: the Palestinians have barely been able to scrape together even a token protest; King Abdullah might be working behind the scenes, but the Jordanian street is somnolent; and Egypt and Saudi Arabia are preoccupied with their own issues.