“Forget about the Trump peace initiative,” a senior Israeli political figure well versed in the details of the latest diplomatic moves told Al-Monitor on the condition of anonymity. “The problem is not about bridging gaps between us and the Palestinians,” he said. “The solution is well known and familiar to the Trump administration.” To push it forward, however, the real sticking point must be overcome. “That problem is called the Netanyahu government,” he remarked. “Sadly, there are no indications for now that the American president is willing to deal with it.”
Shortly after that conversation, Yaakov Peri, Knesset member for the centrist Yesh Atid and a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's previous government, told Al-Monitor that he came away from the many talks he had had with Netanyahu under the impression that the prime minister fully understood the need to separate from the Palestinians. Nonetheless, Peri too believes that the Israeli government in its current composition is part of the problem, not the solution.