The disputes with the United States over the question of the "day after," as well as the immediate questions, became public on Tuesday. Biden was harsh when he told Democratic donors that "Netanyahu needs to change his government" and that "Israel is starting to lose support because of indiscriminate bombing."
As mentioned, even on the issue of the day after, the gaps have never been greater and more public. "Yes, there are disagreements about the day after," Netanyahu said today, "I want to make my position clear: I will not allow Israel to repeat the mistake of Oslo." Hours later, Biden clarified his position in a direct message: "Netanyahu cannot say 'no' to a future Palestinian state."
Biden and Netanyahu during the US president's visit to Israel, photo: AP
Behind the mutual exchange of messages are two leaders at the start of an election year, one required to tell his constituents that he is preserving the Palestinian dream of a state in order to maintain his support, while the other is required to say the exact opposite: no to the Oslo paradigm and not to overall PA rule in Gaza and the West Bank.
Naturally, this public clash serves the two, but behind the scenes there is a quiet dialogue. Israel Hayom has learned that in addition to the staff work carried out in the NSC, there is also an ongoing dialogue with members of the democratic administration.
"No one in the world, not only in the United States, knows how to find a replacement for the Palestinian Authority, and therefore they are also adopting the declaration 'PA after reform' – our question is whether the PA will indeed be able to change in its education and media systems. We're not sure they can change, and that's what the discussions with the U.S. are about," a source familiar with the matter told Israel Hayom.
Biden on the complex relationship with Netanyahu (Archive) // Reuters
A few weeks after the outbreak of the war, discussions began to take place on a daily basis with the participation of the army, the Shin Bet and the Mossad in order to prepare the alternatives for the day after Hamas. But in a sweeping decision, the issue is not public because the basic goal has not been achieved: the destruction of Hamas.
The agreed borders include: a decision that Hamas will not control the Gaza Strip, nor will the PA in its current form. The Gaza Strip will be de-melitarized and Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates will participate in reconstruction. At the same time, Israel intends to continue its military control of the Gaza Strip in order to ensure the security of the envelope.
"I will not allow that after the tremendous sacrifice of our citizens and fighters, we bring into Gaza those who educate for terrorism, support terrorism, finance terrorism. Gaza will be neither Hamastan nor Fatahstan," Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu and Gantz (archive), Netanyahu hopes to differentiate himself from Gantz by publicly opposing the Palestinian Authority, photo: Yossi Zalgar
Netanyahu's messages clarify Israel's red line to Western partners, but they are also campaign messages. Netanyahu is sharpening the lines of disagreement with the Israeli left over the Oslo Accords, which are not currently being decided by the public, in order to sharpen the political security gap between him and his possible rivals – Gantz, Lapid and others.
The goal is to bring back around the Israeli right, which bitterly opposes the Palestinian Authority's control of Gaza and sees this possibility as a revival of the Oslo Accords with the hundreds of deaths that followed. Netanyahu, backed by public opinion studies, planted this message in the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee as well, and continued to do so last night.
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