Exclusive: Before departing for the United States for the long-awaited meeting with US President Biden, Prime Minister Netanyahu and Minister Ron Dermer met with Religious Zionism Chairman Minister Bezalel Smotrich, the focus of the meeting - the agreement being formulated with Saudi Arabia and the demands included in it for gestures vis-à-vis the Palestinians.
Israel has known for some time that the return Biden will demand for advancing the agreement on the Palestinian side will be even greater than the conditions set by the Saudis, who focus on civilian nuclear weapons and a defense pact. In his speech Tuesday night at the United Nations, the American president confirmed Israeli fears by once again mentioning a forgotten solution: two states for two peoples.
Prime Minister Netanyahu and his wife landed in New York, Video: Roy Avraham/GPO, Sound: Yehezkel Kandil/GPO
But Netanyahu did not take off from Israel with the "side" that the United States hoped for, and at the tripartite meeting, Smotrich's opposition to gestures to the Palestinian Authority came up again. As was already raised in the cabinet meeting in which the Americans demanded an easing of the PA's debt repayments, an easing that requires the signature of the Minister of Finance, which has not yet been received. As reported by Israel Hayom at the time, those close to Smotrich said that it was inconceivable that the Americans would have demands on a minister whom they were effectively boycotting.
And it's not just about Smotrich. Netanyahu's give-and-take boundaries in the deal with Saudi Arabia are also narrow because of Otzma Yehudit's chairman, but more importantly, the government claims, Netanyahu does not have the credit to negotiate from within his own party. Among others, the names of MK Avichai Boaron, Danny Danon, Ariel Kellner, Dan Illouz as active opponents and others from the top of the list came up. The coalition said yesterday that "there is no basis to claims that adding Gantz to the government will make changes for the Palestinians possible," since Netanyahu also has domestic opponents and knows it.
Netanyahu and Smotrich (archive), photo: Amit Shabi
If the U.S. turns the Palestinian issue into an obstacle, the normalization hoped for by bin Salman and Biden will not be able to get underway with Israeli support, since any gesture that is not fully coordinated within the coalition could dissolve the government and the window of opportunity until spring will close without a signature. It should be noted that Biden's interests, which required a significant international achievement in fulfilling the deal before the elections, such as bin Salman's on the defense pact, are greater than the gestures they demand regarding the Palestinians, especially when Biden needs Netanyahu to pass the agreement with Republican votes. Netanyahu, for his part, is eager for another agreement on the list of Abraham Accords, but will not pay for it at the price of his government.
Former head of the National Security Council Meir Ben-Shabbat told Israel Hayom that "with regard to the Palestinians, bin Salman expects a significant process that will bring this issue back to the table and give weight to the Saudi initiative to end the Israeli-Arab conflict, from 2002, presented by Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and supported by the Arab League. It is possible that the US administration is holding on to this in order to increase the pressure on Israel and advance the Palestinian issue in accordance with its perception. This could lead to demands from Israel being higher than it can afford on this issue, especially in light of the current security and political reality."
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