On the big plan – Amir Tibon in Haaretz:
‘Two months ago, Benjamin Netanyahu's government was on the verge of collapse. The far-right, messianic elements of his governing coalition were threatening to leave the government because he had agreed, under heavy pressure from the United States, to enter a temporary cease-fire deal in order to allow the return of some Israeli hostages from Gaza. The ultra-Orthodox parties, meanwhile, were threatening to do the same unless Netanyahu agreed to promote a deeply unpopular bill to exempt their voters from military service.
Things looked hopeless for Netanyahu, until the prime minister arrived in Washington for a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump. During that meeting, Trump presented his plan to forcibly expel the entire Palestinian population of Gaza; Netanyahu then returned to Israel with a big promise to dangle in front of his wavering coalition partners. If you bring down this government now, he warned them, Israel will go to an early election, and the opportunity to implement Trump's big plan for Gaza will be lost forever. The government survived, passed a state budget, and seems certain to hold onto power for at least a year now.’
(…)
‘Which leads us back to Washington, where he is scheduled to meet Trump on Monday for a short visit that was hastily arranged last week, after the two men spoke on the phone during Netanyahu's lavish, four-day vacation in Budapest. Netanyahu, according to his office, raised the issue of Trump's tariffs, including the 17 percent tax his administration announced it would place on all imports from Israel. In response, Trump invited Netanyahu to the White House, and that's how the meeting came to be.
For Netanyahu, this is another opportunity to change the public agenda in Israel – and to use Trump to rescue himself from the storm surrounding him. He may even ask Trump to make a public statement against the investigations that are hounding him, and the two will together denounce the so-called "deep state" behind them.
One question will remain unanswered, just like after Netanyahu's February visit, in which Trump saved him from losing power: What do Trump and the U.S. get in return for bailing out Netanyahu?’
Read the article here.
What he US i.e. Trump will get in return? Total submission.
The two men will try to outsmart and outlive each other.
Soon we will know whether the US will lower its tariffs for Israel to zero percent. In return for what exactly?
In the meantime the killing continues. Blaming the so-called eep state continues.