The Knesset advanced legislation that approves President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan for Gaza. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of his Likud party boycotted the vote.
On Wednesday, legislation introduced by Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid passed its first reading in the Knesset by a vote of 39-0. While no member of the Knesset voted against the motion, Netanyahu attempted to kill the legislation by having members of his Likud party boycott the vote.
“This is the first opportunity we have been given as a Knesset to tell President Trump, to tell the world, to tell ourselves, that we are uniting around a common goal,” Lapid said. “Netanyahu chose to boycott the vote and not come here. It’s a shame.”
Trump’s 20-point peace plan was agreed to in October. Under the first phase of the deal, Hamas and Israel agreed to a hostage exchange and ceasefire. The truce was meant to allow for talks on more difficult issues, such as disarming Gaza and the future of Hamas.
However, negotiations on phase two have not progressed, and Israel has frequently violated the ceasefire. Netanyahu’s absence from the Knesset vote is another sign that Tel Aviv has no intention of allowing Trump’s peace proposal to end the onslaught in Gaza.
Among Likud members, the largest criticism of Trump’s plan is a vague statement that if certain conditions are met, there could one day be an independent Palestinian state. Netanyahu, who has held on to power in Tel Aviv for over a decade, has vowed never to allow for the creation of a Palestinian state.
