Despite the Palestinian Authority's supposed impartiality toward the Israeli election, senior officials in Ramallah concede they would prefer Blue and White leader Benny Gantz as Israel's next prime minister because he lacks experience, Israel Hayom has learned.
The conventional wisdom among PA President Mahmoud Abbas' associates is that there are no major ideological difference between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud and Benny Gantz's newly formed Blue and White centrist bloc, and hence they are mostly concerned with the number of seats the Arab parties get in the April 9 vote.
However, one official in Abbas' bureau told Israel Hayom that "the Palestinian leadership would prefer Gantz and his list at the helm."
Another high-ranking PA official said that in a recent meeting convened by Abbas, the general consensus was that Gantz and Blue and White co-Chairman Yair Lapid would be better for the Palestinians "even though they are not [left-wing party] Meretz or [left-wing advocacy group] Peace Now."
The PA officials said their preference for Gantz is not just because of their hostility toward Netanyahu and his right-wing policies, but also because they hope to exploit the inexperience of Gantz and his potential cabinet ministers.
According to another official, the PA hopes that a change of governments in Israel would mean that U.S. President Donald Trump's peace plan – which is set to be unveiled after the election and could coincide with Netanyahu's own policies – would be postponed by the Americans or shelved altogether if the prime minister doesn't remain in office.
Meanwhile, in Jordan and in Egypt officials are less enthusiastic about a Gantz victory.
According to officials in Cairo and Amman, ties with Israel are at a high point in light of the shifting sands in the region, including the rise of the Islamic State group and the civil war in Syria. These developments, they say, have led to close security coordination.
