On December 28, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz held a meeting at the final home. This was their second meeting since the Israeli government took power in June. The two met earlier in August and phoned a few weeks earlier.
Gantz and Abbas discussed deep-seated security ties between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Israeli government and ways to reduce the economic crisis in the West Bank.
The meeting looked like a debate on both sides. Hamas and other Palestinian groups called the meeting “a failure,” because it did not progress in any way for the sake of the Palestinian cause, while Israeli political leaders, including members of the ruling coalition, saw it as the first way to “compromise”. Palestinian people.
It is unlikely that Gantz and Abbas would have expected such an outcome. Why does he continue to do so, and what does the continued rivalry between the two mean for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict?
Political calculations
Having seceded internationally under former US rule, Abbas has been keen to return to other countries after US President Joe Biden took office in January 2021 and a new Israeli government was formed without former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the end of the year.
The Palestinian president must have seen the spread of Gantz in July as an opportunity to do just that. It is also possible that he hopes that the Israeli defense minister will follow in the footsteps of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who was ready to take part in the Palestinian leadership and even sign a peace deal with Yasser Arafat.
Abbas visited Gantz’s home in search of a “political arena” in order to advance the path of the Oslo Accords, which was their god. But in Israel, no one is talking about the political process with Palestine and Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has said it will not be under his government.
This is why, Abbas was only able to get some financial options from Gantz, which helps solve PA financial problems. This includes Israel sending $ 32m in taxes to the PA and granting more permits to Palestinian workers and permits to enter Palestinian businesses.
According to Israeli media, Gantz also told Abbas that the Israeli government had agreed to allow about 6,000 Palestinians from the West Bank and 3,500 from the Gaza Strip to register and register Palestinian people. The registry is run directly by Israeli authorities and the PA cannot add anyone without Israeli permission, leaving thousands of Palestinians without documents.
For Gantz, action by Abbas allows him to take over the Palestinian file completely and create his own political and international history through it. This earned him the approval of Biden officials, who have been pressuring the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority to resume talks. It also helps him to break away from Bennett, who, fearing that allies with the right wings might leave him, does not want to get involved directly with the PA.
The Israeli government, despite having the right words, wants to maintain a close relationship with the PA, especially security.
The meeting with Abbas came amid growing protests in the West Bank last year and an uprising against Palestinian civilians and civilians. The attack left several Israeli and Palestinian civilians dead and wounded.
Both Gantz and Bennett are aware that the security of hundreds of thousands of Jews living in the West Bank depends on the PA agreement. The Israeli Ministry of Defense has sought and received such security assurances from Abbas in exchange for the financial measures he provided.
The Israeli government is also increasing the PA because it fears an internal collapse could lead to Hamas resumption in the West Bank.
There is no way forward
The only one affected by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that appears to be accepting alliance between Abbas and Ganz was Washington. United States security adviser Jake Sullivan did his best to bring both sides’ views on the issue and to ensure that the conference was held.
But even Biden’s rulers do not force a major overhaul in the Israeli-Palestinian relationship and resume political talks. They appear to be satisfied with this slow action, realizing that the resumption of negotiations will not be possible right now due to the internal divisions of Palestine, the right-wing government in Tel Aviv, and Washington’s involvement in regional and international affairs which he sees as increasing. harder than the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Although Bennett openly opposes joining the PA, he has not resigned because he does not want to offend Washington, especially at a time when Iran’s nuclear deal is under negotiation. He sees no need to enter into a political crisis with US allies as long as the roof of the Abbas-Gantz alliance does not continue to discuss Palestinian economy.
This approach to diversifying economic interests by fostering a security alliance could have a positive effect on the Israeli government and its US allies, but it will not do anything for the Palestinian people. Hundreds of work permits and the entry and exit of tax money will not change the lives of Palestinian people living in Israeli military. They can no longer fix the legitimate problems that PA is suffering.
Asking for more security cooperation from the Palestinian security forces at a time when the Palestinian-based invasion is escalating will not help to correct the abuses of the Abbasids in Palestine. It may help Israel for a while to end the threat to the West Bank, but the root cause of the violence has not been eliminated, it must recur.
In addition, the collection of Palestinian history that we saw in 2021 against the occupation of Israel shows that the process of division and control no longer works. Addressing the economic crisis in the West Bank as a matter of concern to the Palestinian states in Gaza and within the borders of Israel will not bring peace and stability. In fact, while Palestinian political interests remain unanswered, conflicts escalate and soon become the third Intifada.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Al Jazeera.
