Naftali Bennett
Naftali BennettYonatan Sindel/Flash 90

Education Minister Naftali Bennett (Jewish Home) called upon Israeli leadership to take advantage of the next two months, a period he suggests may be crucial in forming the basis for a new understanding with Israel’s strongest ally.

Speaking at the Jerusalem Post Diplomacy Conference on Wednesday, Bennett said the incoming Trump administration would be far more receptive to an unorthodox approach to the Israel-Arab conflict, and could even be swayed to pursue policies radically different from past presidents.

"For so many years there have been misconceptions [regarding Israel and the prospects for peace],” said Bennett. “The first misconception was the centrality of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict to the Middle East. But today, everyone knows that what's going on in Mosul, or Libya, or Egypt, has absolutely nothing to do with another house in Ofra. Everyone knows that. But there's also been another guiding line for many, many years in the United States. It’s not one administration, it's been since the founding of Israel. There's been a feeling that if somehow America distances itself from Israel… [the US will gain favor] in the Arab world. But in reality, that's baseless."

"I hope that the new administration will show the same courage [as President Truman] of being the very first nation on earth that recognizes Jerusalem as Israel's united capital.”

In an oblique reference to his meeting on Sunday with Trump administration officials and the subsequent backlash by the Prime Minister’s Office, Bennett argued in favor of active lobbying of Trump and his inner circle.

"No government is going to be more hawkish than Israel is. So you have one chance, and it'll be over the next few weeks - do we go down the good old failed path? Or finally, do we try something new?"

"The big question over the next few weeks is when Prime Minister Netanyahu meets President-elect Trump, what will Netanyahu say. Will he continue the long-standing approach of forming a Palestinian state in the heart of Israel? Or will he take a new, fresh approach?”

“Think about it. Until now, there have always been extraordinary pressures. And here it’s like a kid that grew up, he's 18-years old - it's ours to decide. I'm under an impression [from the incoming Trump administration] of extreme openness to hear what we want for ourselves. So Israel is put in a unique position to say what it wants. Do we want to establish a second Palestinian state, besides the Palestinian state in Gaza, that would inevitably become a failed and hostile Muslim state? Or try something new?"

Bennett also maligned recent comments by Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman (Yisrael Beytenu) on limitations on construction over the Green Line.

“I'm also hearing some Israeli ministers that are out there volunteering concessions without even being asked for it. This loose chatter is hurting Israel's national security."