Palestinians Welcome Positions of Netanyahu's Main Rival

On Wednesday, February 6, Palestinians welcomed the positions of the main rival of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the upcoming elections. Benny Gantz has criticized the dominance over Palestinian areas. According to Reuters, Gantz has indicated that he is ready to negotiate and reconcile on how to control the occupied areas in the West Bank, which is in stark contrast to the current Prime Minister's stance, who has always rejected the dismantling of Jewish settlements. The proposed U.S. peace plan for the Middle East, which has been confidential so far, is expected to be made public after the Israeli elections on April 9. Polls at this stage predict that the Likud party will secure about 30 seats out of a total of 120 in the Israeli parliament, allowing Netanyahu to potentially become Prime Minister for the fifth time. Half of Israelis do not want Netanyahu as Prime Minister. In an interview with the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, Gantz responded to a question about the possibility of an agreement with the Palestinians by saying, "We need to find solutions so that we do not dominate other peoples." Polls suggest that the party he founded, called "Resilience," is making progress against the Likud party and may win 24 seats in the Israeli parliamentary elections. Gantz previously stated that he would strengthen the Jewish settlements in the West Bank but did not clarify what would happen to the settlements that are scattered and not within Israeli territory in the event of an independent Palestinian state. Reuters adds that Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, welcomed Gantz's remarks about the Jewish settlements, describing it as a step "in the right direction," adding, "It is promising, of course, if he wins the elections and remains faithful to his words." A large part of the international community considers the construction of Jewish settlements in the territories occupied since the 1967 war to be illegal. However, Israel claims it has "historical ties" to these areas, and the population of the settlements has gradually increased. The Likud party stated that Gantz intends to form a "leftist" government that will show flexibility towards the Palestinians. However, Gantz's "Resilience" party asserts that "no unilateral decision will be made regarding the evacuation of Jewish settlements, and for him, the security guarantees of these settlements are non-negotiable." Benjamin Netanyahu views the Gaza Strip as evidence of the "dangerousness" of dismantling Jewish settlements in the West Bank; after Israel's unilateral withdrawal from Gaza in 2005, Hamas took power in the region. However, Gantz said in Wednesday's interview that Israel's withdrawal from Gaza was well executed and lessons should be learned from it and applied elsewhere.