Peretz says opposition will back PM if he pursues peace deal with Palestinians

Zionist Union MK and former defense minister Amir Peretz promises Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a political “safety net” if he should choose to pursue a peace initiative with the Palestinians.

In a statement directed to US Donald Trump hours ahead of his first visit with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Peretz says that Netanyahu “does not have to worry about his coalition partners.”

“We in the Zionist Union faction will grant him a safety net for a political move toward making a peace agreement without preconditions and without portfolios if he chooses to take the path of political settlement.”

“We hope the meeting between Trump and Abu Mazen [Abbas] will bear fruit and advance the chances for a political settlement of two states for two peoples, an arrangement that is of great Israeli interest,” he says.

Peretz is one of nine candidates in the running for chairman of the Labor Party.