Why Israeli opposition head really wanted to join Bibi's government
News of the Aqaba summit and the political and diplomatic events surrounding it lead to the inevitable conclusion that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has no interest in the two-state vision and a regional peace initiative.
As he stood before the members of his Knesset faction at their weekly meeting Feb. 20, Zionist Camp leader Isaac Herzog could finally explain why he was so eager to join the Netanyahu government last year.
Just one day earlier, Haaretz newspaper revealed that a secret summit had been held in Aqaba in March 2016. Participants included US Secretary of State John Kerry, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, King Abdullah II of Jordan and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. At this four-person meeting, Kerry presented a regional peace initiative that was intended to put Israel and the Palestinians back on the negotiating track, under the patronage of other states in the region. It was on the basis of this initiative that Netanyahu entered into secretive but very advanced talks with Herzog. The goal of those talks was to bring the Zionist Camp into the government, with Herzog being given the Foreign Ministry and the portfolio for negotiations with the Palestinians.
