by Orit Strook, Israeli Cabinet Minister, translated by Hillel Fendel.
We've long been talking about the "seven-front" war that
Israel is facing, referring to Hamas, Hizbullah, Iran, the Shi'ites in Syria,
the Houthis in Yemen, and terrorists in Judea/Samaria and Iraq. But in truth,
there are at least two other fronts as well, and both are being waged against
us by the Palestinian Authority. (While we're asking if Qatar is an enemy
state, we'd be well advised to consider that the PA is an enemy entity right
here on our doorstep.)
The first of the two - front #8 in the current war - is the legal-political
one, being waged against us in the international courts such as the UN in
general and its daughter bodies as well: the Security Council, the Civil Rights
Council, UNESCO, of course UNRWA, and others.
Actually, on that front Israel scored a victory this week: We were
able to block and thwart a PA-proposed resolution to establish an "effective
and binding" mechanism to investigate Israel's "crimes" in the
"Palestinian territories." The resolution declared that the findings would
be forwarded not only to international courts, but also to various national courts
around the world so that they could initiate criminal proceedings against
Israelis.
If that resolution had been accepted, it would have placed Israel
in the same category as countries like Assad's Syria and Myanmar, where civil
rights are practically nil. It would have also endangered every Israeli soldier
who ever served in Gaza or Judea/Samaria and then toured abroad. It would also,
by the same token, have cramped and weakened any future Israeli offensive in
these areas, thus lessening our chances to actually win this or any other war.
But with G-d's help and some smart and energetic diplomacy led by
Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, this terrible decision was averted. Instead, an
anemic, toothless decision was made "merely" condemning Israel for
its "crimes" against the Palestinians (the ones who cheered on the
murderers of Oct. 7th). Aaah yes, it also "only" called
for an arms embargo against Israel, and also equated between the Israeli
hostages held by Hamas and the Hamas terrorists incarcerated in Israeli prison
– all while neglecting to condemn Hamas in any way. The decision is shameful,
but it has no practical consequences.
I salute the Foreign Minister and all those who worked with him on
this important achievement. But can we continue to suffice with playing only defense?
This approach of merely thwarting the attacks against us does not thwart the Palestinian
Authority itself. It simply keeps on attacking us, while we don't exact any
price from them. Since they have nothing to lose, they'll keep on biting and
chipping away at us until they see some success.
And the 9th front in this war is the campaign for land
in Judea and Samaria. For the past two decades, we have been retreating
continuously from parcels of land in our homeland – even those that are in Area
C, which are under full Israeli sovereignty according to the internationally
recognized Oslo Accords. The PA is signed on these agreements, of course, yet
we keep on withdrawing while the Arabs advance and conquer more and more
territory – without firing a single shot, without negotiations, without signing
even one agreements.
In this campaign, too, we have long fought only defensively. The
only thing that can be said is that under the present government, a trio of
ministers – Finance Minister (and Minister in the Defense Ministry) Betzalel
Smotrich, newly-appointed Defense Minister Yisrael Katz with his added
motivation and great abilities, and myself – have been waging the defensive campaign
much more intensively and effectively. We're enforcing the law, thwarting many
of their plans, razing illegal buildings, and fighting strongly against every
advancement of theirs. But again, we succeed only in stopping what they try to
do, but we have been unable to exact a price from them for doing so.
The battles on these two fronts are being waged against us by the
Palestinian Authority. Despite this, the PA has still not been named an enemy
entity by our government. It is actually considered, officially, a type of
"partner" with us, or a "subcontractor," for maintaining
security and fighting terrorism. It operates armed security details parallel to
our security forces, and receives ammunition and military training as if they
were on our team.
Their "heads, ministers and advisors" are granted the
opportunity to move freely all around Judea and Samaria, and we even allow them
to conduct, here in Israel, political meetings, the sole purpose of which is to
harm Israel. This approach to our enemy is unreasonable and must be changed.
Close to a year ago, I noted in a government meeting the absurdity
of this situation. Many ministers joined me in the above demand, and it
appeared as if things were moving and about to change: In-depth meetings were
held, and the Cabinet decided to exact prices from the PA. In the most recent
Cabinet meeting, I asked for clarifications as to when these decisions would
actually be implemented…
I did not receive an answer, but we cannot accept a situation in
which Cabinet decisions are simply ignored – and I don't plan to let the matter
drop.
It is absurd to keep acting the same way even after the
circumstances change. In Jewish Law, if a corpse is found and the murderer is
not – the nearest town must bring a particular sacrifice for atonement. But if
afterwards the murderer is found, we do not say that the sacrifice already did
the job; rather, we punish the murderer! This example shows clearly how
irresponsible and illogical it is not to change our response when the
situation, or our understanding of it, changes.
What we know and realize today regarding how dangerous is the PA, and regarding its attacks against us, requires us to change our modus operandi against it. Any other course of action is unreasonable and irresponsible. I will continue to act on this issue and I will not let up; it is my responsibility – and ours.