Prime Minister Netanyahu responds to Blue and White chair Benny Gantz’s vow to apply Israeli sovereignty over the Jordan Valley after the upcoming elections.
“Why wait until after the elections if it is possible to apply sovereignty over the Jordan Valley already with broad agreement in the Knesset? Benny Gantz, I expect your answer this evening, unless [Joint List MK] Ahmad Tibi vetoed you,” Netanyahu is quoted saying by Hebrew media.
Gantz earlier told reporters that he would push to apply sovereignty over the area “in a move agreed on nationally and in coordination with the international community.”
In September, Netanyahu claim he wanted to immediately declare sovereignty over the Jordan Valley, but said was told by Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit a transition government could not make such a move so close to an election.
It was not clear from Netanyahu’s remarks why he believes Gantz’s campaign promise would cause Mandelblit to reassess his earlier legal position.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu points at a map of the Jordan Valley as he gives a statement, promising to extend Israeli sovereignty to the Jordan Valley and northern Dead Sea area, in Ramat Gan on September 10, 2019. (Menahem Kahana/AFP)
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