• Netanyahu meets US Ambassador Friedman as July 1 annexation decision looms
• WATCH: Israeli-Arab social activist Yoseph Haddad Zoom Webinar June 10, 2020
  
• Join Zoom Meeting: TOMORROW, June 17th (12pmET) - Likud MK Nir Barkat
  
• Netanyahu targets August 1 for opening the skies to Greece and Cyprus

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• There is no agreement between the senior Israeli leadership. Netanyahu is reportedly favouring extending sovereignty over all the Jewish settlements and the Jordan Valley, while Gantz and Ashkenazi are opposed, but could agree to applying sovereignty to the major settlement blocs, the Etzion bloc and Maale Adumim, believing that such a move would not undermine relations with Jordan.
  
• Israeli media speculates that there are also differences of opinion within the US administration. Ambassador Friedman supports extensive annexation, while US President Donald Trump’s senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner is hesitant to give US approval to annexation given the reaction from the Arab world. It is also believed by some in Israel that the window of opportunity to apply Israeli law to the West Bank with the approval from the White House will only last until the end of summer – and not too close to the November elections.
• Netanyahu is looking to extend Israeli law to around 30 per cent of the West Bank, including all 132 communities and the Jordan Valley. According to the coalition agreement with Blue and White, he can advance the plan as early as 1 July. Despite no formal veto, the consent of the Blue and White ministers is important as the US will only support the plan if it is backed by an Israeli consensus.
• Over the weekend, the political establishment responded to Friday’s article in Yediot Ahronot by Yousef Al Otaiba, UAE ambassador to the US. Likud Minister Tzachi Hanegbi said: “As Ambassador Al Otaiba described so well in his article, in recent years Israel’s relations with the Persian Gulf states have developed in a significantly positive way. But the Palestinian Authority has shut its eyes so as not to take the hint from courageous Arab leaders. As opposed to the Palestinians, Israel will not miss the historic opportunity to apply sovereignty over tracts of the homeland that have a broad consensus in Israeli society.”  Friday’s article in Yediot Ahronot by Yousef Al Otaiba
• In an effort to mitigate concerns over annexation, Mossad Director Yossi Cohen will speak in the next few weeks with leaders of Arab states in the region, including Jordan and Egypt.
  

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