(Haaretz).Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with senior Likud members before departing for Washington yesterday, in order to formulate a single narrative and keep his rivals from taking advantage of potentially different media interpretations.
This move stemmed from lessons learned during the rocky budget approval process, an associate of Netanyahu said.
Before his departure yesterday, Netanyahu met with ministers Dan Meridor, Gideon Sa'ar, Silvan Shalom, Israel Katz and Gilad Erdan, as well as the chairman of the Likud response team, MK Ofir Akonis. He also spoke by phone with the more hawkish members of his cabinet, Benny Begin and Moshe Ya'alon, and said he does not intend to bow to pressure and declare he supports two states for two peoples.
However, Netanyahu explained that he does not intend to meet U.S. President Barack Obama bearing no gifts, and said he is willing to negotiate for a Palestinian state under certain conditions, including recognition of Israel as a state for the Jewish people.
"It is clear that the budget was not handled as it should have been," a source close to Netanyahu said. "It was a failure in conduct. There was no political upkeep, and the Likud ministers and MKs did not defend Netanyahu - they did the opposite. So, lessons were learned," the sources said, regarding to how Netanyahu is handling his meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama.
The source said Netanyahu is not concerned about a potential party mutiny, because the Likud does not have a senior, established group that could challenge him.
"Bibi [Netanyahu] has done preventative treatment. He explained during meetings that nothing [on the Palestinian front] is going to happen tomorrow morning," a Likud source said.
