Gantz: Diplomatic impasse is fault of both Israel and Palestinians

Both Israel and the Palestinians are to blame for the current impasse in diplomacy, former IDF chief of staff Benny Gantz said Friday, calling for “constructive” action from each party.

“There is a negative atmosphere on both sides that draws in all the extremists. We need a constructive attitude on both sides,” he said in a meeting with residents of Kibbutz Gevim, near the Gaza Strip border.

“The Palestinians are avoiding responsibility and Abu Mazen is afraid to make an historic strategic decision,” Gantz said, referring to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas by his popular name. “He can make all the claims he wants. The Palestinians are afraid. But we too are afraid.

“You can prevent our destruction with force, but an idea can (only) be beaten by an alternative idea, and we should be searching for it,” he said. “You can’t (solve) everything with force alone.”

Despite the ever-present security concerns, Gantz said building society from within was far more important for national fortitude.

“We should first of all deal with education, welfare, law and infrastructure. Only then defense,” he said.

“Israeli society will never be Luxembourg, and we need to be careful about it, but I say defense is in fifth, not first place.”

Gantz also commented on the nuclear deal with Iran, saying the activity of the Islamic Republic was not chiefly an Israeli problem.

“The deal is not good or bad, but it does give us quiet for several years that can not always be achieved by a [military] strike. Iran is first of all a global problem, then a Middle East problem, and only then an Israeli problem.”

Gantz said in September that he was not more concerned about Israel’s security following the signing of the nuclear accord between Tehran and world powers, adding that he saw the benefits of a deal that he said had prevented a war. The deal, he said, was a case of the “cup being half-full.”

“I refuse to get hysterical” about the nuclear deal, he told a gathering of policymakers and analysts in Washington DC, in likely reference to official Israel’s excoriation of the agreement.

While Gantz, who ended his tenure as IDF chief in February, said a better deal may have been possible, he also acknowledged the final agreement’s success in putting off a nuclear-armed Iran for at least 10-15 years. Diplomacy, he said, had prevented war from breaking out.

Rebecca Shimoni Stoil contributed to this report.