Last week, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that “Hamas’s actions on October 7th hindered the normalization of diplomatic relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia,” in response to which Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas said, “Palestinians are paying the price of war and Khamenei’s remarks show that the goal is not set. [of Iran] “Sacrifice Palestinian blood.” [This] “It will never lead to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital… What we want is an end to the occupation.”
Revealing a divide between the warring parties, the exchange of statements highlights the deep rift between Iran-backed Hamas and jihad on the one hand and the Palestinian Authority on the other, and shows why the Palestinian Authority remains Israel’s main partner in pursuing its interests even after October 7.
It may be absurd, but there are people in our government who share the vision of Hamas and Iran, and that means a never-ending war of attrition.
Recently, the Israeli intelligence agency Shin Bet issued a strategic warning to the political and security classes that a number of actions taken against the Palestinian Authority in recent years could lead to the collapse of the Palestinian Authority’s economy. The warning follows a series of decisions by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who is also the Minister of Defense in charge of West Bank policy, who has acted deliberately and consistently against the Palestinian Authority.
Netanyahu’s coalition government is doing everything it can to thwart a Palestinian Authority
The Palestinian Authority has proven time and time again that it can be a reliable security partner and also a political partner, but the government led by Smotrich is doing everything in its power to destroy the Palestinian Authority, contrary to the position of all security agencies.
Smotrich has sought to cut off the Palestinian Authority from the Israeli financial system, using his power to stop the remittance of tax payments belonging to the Palestinian Authority, and working with partners in government to continue to block Palestinian workers from returning to Israel, against the advice of security services.
As a result of these actions, security forces are on high alert for the collapse of the Palestinian Authority and the dire consequences such a scenario would have for Israel’s security. At the same time as the Israeli government’s economic stranglehold on the Palestinian Authority, Iranian funds continue to flow into the West Bank to facilitate terrorist attacks.
Smotrich is not stupid. He understands that the economic collapse of the Palestinian Authority poses security risks, but that is exactly what he aims to achieve. His ideological partner, Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir, also supports Iran’s vision of chaos and efforts to undermine the Palestinian Authority. During the Jerusalem Anniversary celebrations, Ben Gvir stated that it is his policy to allow Jews to perform religious ceremonies on the Holy Temple Mount.
This marks the first time that the Israeli minister in charge of security at the Temple Mount has publicly departed from the status quo, which bans Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount grounds.
Even Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who normally cooperates with the whims of his far-right partners, responded to Ben Gvir’s statement at the request of the security forces, saying “the status quo on the Temple Mount has not changed and will not change in the future.”
In reality, the status quo is often violated with the support of the Ben Gvir police, to the delight of Iran and Hamas and the dismay of the Palestinian Authority, Jordan and our own security forces, who know very well that changing the status quo on the Temple Mount will surely lead to bloodshed, as has happened so many times in the past.
The Israeli government is doing everything in its power to destroy the Palestinian Authority, not because it is dangerous, but because it is a moderate. Not because it is an enemy, but because it can be a partner. What extremists and messiahs like Smotrich and Orit Struk fear most is Palestinians who are interested in peace talks. For our extremists, there is no more loyal and pious partner than the extremists on the other side, Hamas and Jihad.
Nothing has changed in their perception since October 7. It is all the result of their distorted policy of weakening partners and strengthening Israel’s enemies.
While Hamas has kidnapped our people, the Israeli government has been kidnapped by a messianic and dangerous group, for whom the slaughter and war is an opportunity to return to the Gaza Strip and rebuild Kfar Darom, Netzarim and Gush Katif, and they will not let up until they achieve this.
Along the way, they are taking advantage of a prime minister who is weak and a total cynic who will do anything to stay in power, including sacrificing 120 hostages, fatally undermining Israel’s most vital interests, and turning it into a weakened exile state condemned by the international community.
While the IDF is waging a war in Gaza to restore security in the south, most of Israel’s ruling coalition has a different goal. For them, October 7 is a pretext for their real goal: rebuilding settlements in the Gaza Strip and removing Palestinians from Area C in the West Bank. If that is the goal, then there is clearly no room for an agreement to return the hostages and allow the US and Arab countries to promote a moderate alternative to the Hamas regime in Gaza.
As a result, the slogan “total victory” was created to “disguise” the real goal of settlements in the Gaza Strip, but it is clear to everyone that this goal will not be achieved, because there is no such thing as a “total victory” over terrorist organizations. There never was, and never will be.
We have all become captives of a coalition of messianism and corruption that is leading to endless wars, the goal of which is not the safety and return of kidnapped men and women, but the return of settlements to the Gaza Strip and the continued rule of Netanyahu and his henchmen.
The Israeli government led by Smotrich, Strzok, Ben Gvir and Netanyahu is fulfilling the vision of Iran and Hamas. This extremist alliance is the greatest danger to the State of Israel today.
The author is executive director of J Street Israel and a former Israeli diplomat in Washington and Boston and political advisor to the president of Israel.
