Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warns that Hamas is trying to incite in the West Bank, and says Israel must take steps to prevent that by strengthening the Palestinian Authority.
“Hamas is trying to connect between Gaza and Judea and Samaria, and to rile up the area,” says Gallant in comments supplied by his office, using the biblical name for the West Bank.
“We must prevent this in every way and deal with the issue of laborers and money,” he adds. “This could harm our ability to achieve our war goals.”
Gallant is referring to proposals to allow Palestinian laborers from the West Bank back into Israel to work, as well as frozen tax funds that Israel collects for the Palestinian Authority — issues that have been highly contentious in the cabinet since the start of the war.
He adds that he “hopes that the government will accept the position of the IDF and the Shin Bet on everything that is connected to laborers and money. I will say this in the clearest way possible: A strong Palestinian Authority is in the best security interests of Israel.”
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