"Rosh HaAyin Summit": The new government in Israel is moving towards normalization with the Palestinian Authority

Even in the absence of political negotiations, Ganz has led a dramatic change for the better in relations with the Palestinians, after more than a decade of disengagement. During his tenure, Netanyahu worked to weaken the PA and strengthen Hamas, so it was natural that

Lightning Ravid

29/12/2021

Wednesday, 29 December 2021, 19:18

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Ganz: "There is no doubt that Iran is a problem - and Israel is preparing its capabilities" (Walla system!)

When I met former US President Donald Trump last April at his Florida estate, he told how he told his people he hoped Benny Ganz would win the March 2020 election, as with him as Israeli prime minister it would be easier to achieve the "deal of the century" he coveted.

"The Palestinians hate Netanyahu. They hate him deeply. They do not hate Ganz. This is an important variable," he told me.

The "summit of Rosh HaAyin" between Defense Minister and Palestinian President Abu Mazen is proof that Trump has analyzed reality accurately.

Although Ganz is not the prime minister of Israel and the achievement of a peace agreement is not in sight, in the last six months the defense minister has led a dramatic change for the better in the relationship between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

To understand how important the second meeting between Ganz and Abu Mazen was, it was enough to look at the numbers.

The last time the Palestinian president visited Israeli territory for an official meeting with a senior Israeli official was in 2010 when he attended a tripartite meeting with then-Prime Minister Netanyahu and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the official residence on Balfour Street in Jerusalem.

More on Walla!

Hundreds of millions of shekels a year will be put into the Authority: Ganz's gestures to Abu Mazen

To the full article

Holds the "Palestinian portfolio" in the government almost exclusively.

Ganz (Photo: Flash 90, Avshalom Sasson)

This was the last significant political meeting between the two leaders. In 2016, when Abu Mazen arrived to attend the funeral of former President Shimon Peres in Jerusalem, the two encountered each other at the reception ceremony and exchanged a few polite words for less than a minute. This was the last time that Mahmoud Abbas' foot was trampled on in public on Israeli soil.

During Benjamin Netanyahu's 12 years in power, the rift between the Israeli leadership and the Palestinian leadership was almost complete. The crisis of confidence was deep and devastating. Netanyahu has carried out a series of deliberate actions to weaken the Palestinian Authority. The annexation program he tried to promote in 2020 was the most notable move. Ganz played a key role in thwarting this dangerous move.

At a cabinet meeting a few weeks ago, Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar warned ministers that the PA was on the verge of an economic and political collapse, so Israel must take proactive action to help it. A very negative effect that only exacerbated the situation.

First meeting with a senior Israeli official in Israel since 2010. Abu Mazen (Photo: AP)

On the other hand, during his tenure, Netanyahu worked actively to strengthen the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza, including the flow of Qatari money and the treatment of "Hamastan" as a political entity.

This policy has also strengthened Hamas in the West Bank.

Thus, it was only natural that the first two factors to condemn the meeting between Ganz and Abu Mazen were Likud spokesmen and Hamas spokesmen.

Ganz currently holds the Palestinian portfolio in the government almost exclusively.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid are comfortable with this arrangement, both politically and substantively.

Even if Bennett does not like the visibility and publicity of the encounters between Ganz and Abu Mazen, he fully understands their importance in preventing escalation and maintaining security stability in the West Bank.

A year after the "Abraham Accords" that led to a political renaissance for Israel in the Arab world, it seems that even in the absence of a political process and negotiations for a peace agreement, the new government in Jerusalem is slowly moving in the direction of normalization with the Palestinian Authority.

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• Bnei Gantz

• Abu Mazen

• the Palestinian Authority