Smotrich calls for cabinet to ban PA involvement in postwar Gaza, and for Gallant to be ousted if he disagrees
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich calls on the cabinet to vote on a decision to prevent the Palestinian Authority’s involvement in the coastal strip’s postwar governance — and for Gallant to be forced out if he does not agree.
“Defense Minister Galant today announced his support for the establishment of a Palestinian terrorist state as a reward for terrorism and Hamas for the most terrible massacre of the Jewish people since the Holocaust,” Smotrich declares in a video message posted to X, formerly Twitter, after Gallant said that he will “not allow” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to impose “civil or military governance of Gaza after Hamas.”
Gallant’s plan would “pave the way for the establishment of an Arab terrorist state and for Hamas to take over Judea and Samaria as well,” a position completely at odds with that of the prime minister and the rest of the cabinet, Smotrich says.
Smotrich demands that Netanyahu bring a resolution ruling out PA involvement in Gaza to the government and then present Gallant with a choice to either “implement the government’s policy or return the keys” to his office.
“A government in which we are members will not… establish a Palestinian state and will not endanger the existence of the State of Israel,” he says.
שר הביטחון גלנט הודיע היום למעשה על תמיכתו בהקמת מדינת טרור פלשתינית כפרס לטרור ולחמאס על הטבח הנורא ביותר שבוצע בעם היהודי מאז השואה.
גלנט מתחבא מאחורי אמירות אמורפיות על "גורם שלישי" שהוא לא חמאס ולא ישראל כדי להחביא את האמת. אבל האמת היא שאין שום גורם כזה.
התכנית של גלנט היא… pic.twitter.com/12quZxsIWm
— בצלאל סמוטריץ' (@bezalelsm) May 15, 2024