The real story behind secret Aqaba summit on Mideast peace

Zionist Camp leader Isaac Herzog kept the secret for a year. He did not reveal the existence of a summit held in Aqaba in February 2016. The summit was attended by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US Secretary of State John Kerry, Jordanian King Abdullah II and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. The existence of this summit, designed to promote a regional peace initiative, was revealed Feb. 19 by Haaretz correspondent Barak Ravid. It turns out that this regional powwow was the basis for talks held between Herzog and Netanyahu about establishing a unity government with the Zionist Camp. Ultimately, the coalition negotiations did not bring about a national unity government. It also did not lead to a historic regional agreement.

At the time, Herzog did not detail his considerations for entering into negotiations with Netanyahu over joining the government, even though he saw how his party was plunging in public opinion polls. The Israeli public, together with most members of Herzog’s party (they did not know about the secret summit in Aqaba), did not believe that Herzog held marathon discussions with Netanyahu out of purely patriotic considerations.