Israel: Netanyahu denies claim that Trump was surprised by annexation pledge
Benjamin Netanyahu has denied claims in Jared Kushner’s upcoming memoir that Donald Trump was angry and surprised over plans announced by the former Israeli prime minister to immediately annex parts of the illegally occupied West Bank.
Kushner, the former US president’s son-in-law, was the architect of the Trump administration’s Middle East peace plan for Israelis and Palestinians unveiled in January 2020, dubbed the “Deal of the Century”.
The plan - which was condemned across the board by Palestinians - recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, declared the annexation of illegal settlements across the occupied West Bank and the Jordan Valley, and barred Palestinians from the right to resettle in their ancestral homes in Israel.
In his new book, Breaking History, Kushner claimed that during a White House event unveiling the initiative, Netanyahu surprised the US administration by announcing his intention to immediately annex large swathes of the occupied West Bank.
Both Trump and his son-in-law were embarrassed by the announcement, according to the memoir, having expected more conciliatory rhetoric in the presence of foreign officials.
“I had walked them through the peace proposal and given them my word that Trump would present a dignified and balanced proposal - one that required compromises on both sides," Kushner wrote. "But that certainly wasn’t the deal Bibi (Netanyahu) was describing,”
Netanyahu's office strongly denied the claims in a statement published on Thursday.
“The charge that… Netanyahu surprised the president and his staff with an uncoordinated announcement on moving forward with sovereignty, and that such an announcement subverted the peace plan, is utterly baseless," it said.
It added that an exchange of letters in the lead-up to the event “made clear that Israel would move forward with a declaration regarding sovereignty”, and that Netanyahu travelled to Washington to accept Trump’s peace plan after months of “painstaking” negotiations.
Trump turns against Netanyahu
Following the incident, Kushner revealed that Trump had contemplated endorsing Netanyahu’s then arch political rival Benny Gantz ahead of the March 2020 Israeli election.
“Trump was still fuming over Bibi’s speech. In fact, he had asked me whether he should take the unusual step of endorsing… Gantz,” the 41-year-old wrote.
The book also claimed that Netanyahu reacted "unenthusiastically" to Washington’s decision to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
“Trump began to second-guess his decision… [he] wondered aloud why he was taking this risk if the Israeli prime minister didn’t think it was that important,” Kushner wrote.
Netanyahu’s office denied the claim earlier this week, telling Israeli news site Walla that it had asked Trump to move the embassy “several times” and expressed “great appreciation for this decision”.
The claims by Kushner are the latest example of deteriorating ties between Trump and Netanyahu, who had previously shared a close relationship.
In an interview with Axios in December, the former president railed against his once-ally for congratulating his successor President Joe Biden shortly after his election victory.
“[Netanyahu] was very early. Like earlier than most. I haven’t spoken to him since. Fuck him,” Trump said.
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