President Donald Trump's "Deal of the Century" peace plan will include a Palestinian state, Israel's education minister said Sunday.
"This would mean an additional Arab entity west of the Jordan River," Naftali Bennett, a member of Israel's Security Cabinet and head of the Jewish Home party, said in an interview with Israel Army Radio. His party, which is on the right edge of Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition, won't allow this to happen, Bennett said.
Trump has given mixed signals about his support for a Palestinian state. Early in his presidency he floated the idea of a 'one-state' solution to the conflict, something both Israelis and Palestinians oppose.
Netanyahu in the past has expressed support for a Palestinian state but now says the question is how statehood is defined, arguing that Palestinians should be able to govern themselves but Israel must maintain overall security control in the West Bank. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas supports a two-state solution to the conflict, but rejects the premise that one will be a Jewish state.
Bennett told Army Radio that Trump's peace plan, which is expected to be presented in the coming months, envisions a Palestinian state "with certain conditions." He didn't elaborate on what that meant or how he knew the contents of the U.S. plan.
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