Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intends to “distance” Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir from any involvement in the issue of possible concessions for the Palestinians as part of the Cabinet's decision to prevent the collapse of the Palestinian Authority, according to multiple Israeli reports.
According to the report by Yedioth Ahronoth, after Ben Gvir was the lone vote against the proposal in yesterday's cabinet discussion to help the Palestinian Authority and prevent its collapse, a limited team of ministers is expected to be formed to continue dealing with concessions to the Palestinian Authority of which Ben Gvir will not be a part. Netanyahu and a majority of his coalition are under the impression that currently, the PA is the lesser of two evils that must be maintained as part of the decades-long Status-Quo which began with the Oslo Accords. With Hamas long expected to be victorious if new elections were held, and the rise in popularity of the Islamic Jihad group in Judea and Samaria, the decision to prop up the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority was more of a case of 'the devil you know' than a nod to the legitimacy of the Abbas government.
Israeli cabinet agrees on a resolution to help prevent the collapse of the Palestinian Authority
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) July 9, 2023
'This meeting of the cabinet was also to serve United States-Israel relationship... The statement by Biden, I think, made a lot of damage,' @eitan_dangot tells @benitalevin pic.twitter.com/6sV3bq27n4
This is not the first time that Netanyahu has set up limited forums without his senior partner and chairman of Otzma Yehudit. The decision approved last night by the cabinet does not include practical measures, but it was determined that the prime minister and the defense minister will bring their proposals for discussion before the cabinet ministers in further discussion.
The proposal states that "in the absence of a change in the national assessment, Israel will act to prevent the collapse of the Palestinian Authority, while advancing the lawsuit to cease its activities against Israel in the international legal-political arena, from incitement in its media and education systems, from payments to the families of terrorists and murderers, and from the illegal construction in Area C."
Security Cabinet agrees to 'prevent collapse of Palestinian Authority', but no relief https://t.co/HBjmAURRhS
— Av Aleksandr (@abbaleksandr) July 9, 2023
The rest of the Prime Minister's proposals that came up in the Cabinet were unanimously accepted. According to the proposals, the security forces will continue to act resolutely to thwart terrorism, and the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defense will bring before the Cabinet measures to stabilize the civilian situation in the Palestinian arena.
ME TOO
— Chai5... אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה ... I am that I am (@sadcjp) July 9, 2023
Ben Gvir and other Cabinet ministers oppose support for Palestinian Authority https://t.co/rnWY0gSfsJ via @EMAILiT
In addition, the cabinet unanimously supported the Minister of Defense's statement about a number of Israel Defense Forces reservists refusing to show up for duty out of political objection to the current coalition. According to Minister Gallant, "the calls for refusals seriously damage Israel's security, and that they must be condemned and action should be taken to allow the security forces to leave the political discourse." Keeping the IDF and its productiveness out of the political storm that has swept Israel in recent months is an issue that has gained bipartisan support from Knesset members.
