![Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) and Defense Minister Benny Gantz attend the weekly cabinet meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem on 21 June, 2020 [Gettyimages/Marc Israel Sellem/Pool/Flash90]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Gantz-Netanyahu.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
Israel’s Defence Minister said on Monday that the 1 July date set by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his annexation plan is not “sacred”, local media have reported.
“Anything that is not related to the coronavirus will wait,” stressed Benny Gantz.
The minister made his comment before a meeting with US President Donald Trump’s Special Envoy, Avi Berkowitz, and Ambassador to Israel David Friedman. America’s “deal of the century” was on the agenda.
Gantz told the US officials that before annexation takes place, “People must be returned to their jobs and the coronavirus must be dealt with.”
He described Trump’s deal as a “historic move that constitutes the right and the best framework for promoting peace in the Middle East.”
According to Haaretz, Gantz added that the deal must move forward together with strategic partners in the region and the Palestinians, “to reach an outline that benefits all sides proportionally, responsibly and reciprocally.”
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