Gantz Takes Heat for Meeting in His Home With Abbas on Economic, Security Cooperation
Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz took a lot of heat from fellow members of Knesset from both the opposition and the right-wing members of the coalition government over his meeting on Tuesday night with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. The 2.5-hour meeting took place at the defense minister’s home in Rosh Ha’ayin, in central Israel. It was the second meeting in recent months between the Palestinian president and the Israeli defense minister, who held a tête-à-tête in Ramallah, on the West Bank, in August. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett reportedly objected to holding the meeting in general and specifically objected to it being held at Gantz’s home. Not surprisingly, Abbas’ Fatah party rival Hamas also condemned the meeting, calling it “reprehensible and condemnable.” Gantz and Abbas discussed plans to advance economic and security cooperation between the sides at the meeting, according to a statement from the Israeli Defense Ministry, during which Gantz referred to “the parties’ shared interest in deepening security coordination, maintaining regional stability and preventing terror and violence” and expressed support for “advancing confidence-building measures in economic and civilian areas.” Following the meeting, Gantz approved various confidence-building measures, including the transfer of NIS 100 million ($32 million) in tax revenues that Israel collects from Palestinian workers in Israel on behalf of the Palestinian Authority. In July, Israel withheld almost NIS 600 million in tax revenues in response to the PA’s policy of making payments to the families of Palestinian attackers killed or imprisoned by Israel.
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