Israel increased entry permits for Palestinians to convince Palestinians that the PA is "useless"
"I can't understand why some people were so infuriated by Israel's granting permits to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to visit Jerusalem and Israel, and about the flow of tens of thousands of Palestinians, during the holiday, to the Jaffa beach and other Palestinian beaches... As someone who is involved in what is happening on the Israeli scene, I do not believe that there is someone [in Israel] who wanted to export the Israeli economic crisis to the Palestinian side. If the Israeli decision had entailed the slightest bit of a security risk, Israel would not have agreed to place itself in danger merely in order to acquire what the residents of the West Bank might spend during their visit to Jerusalem and Israel... What does require discussion is the suggestion that Israel's goal was to strengthen the Civil Administration Authority and to create a direct connection with Palestinian citizens, because of the continued lack of political consensus between itself and the Palestinian Authority, and the refusal of the latter to return to negotiations. The goal was to convince Palestinian citizens that the Palestinian Authority is useless...
To date, the political process has failed, there is no political solution on the horizon, the rift between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip is growing stronger, and there are increasing numbers of Palestinians, on both sides [West Bank and Gaza], calling for steps that will perpetuate the rift and pave the way for the establishment of two [Palestinian] entities, and not two Palestinian states, in the West Bank and in Gaza. Given this situation, it would be easy for Israel to strengthen the process of consolidating a political entity in Gaza, and crushing the opportunity to establish an independent entity in the West Bank. If this is the case, I believe that once again it is necessary to remove all barriers between the West Bank and Israel, and to permit our people, on both sides of the fence, to make contact and to mingle in a natural manner, since this is preferable to living in a great prison that is called the West Bank - or, more precisely, the Palestinian Authority areas."
Click to view bulletin
To date, the political process has failed, there is no political solution on the horizon, the rift between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip is growing stronger, and there are increasing numbers of Palestinians, on both sides [West Bank and Gaza], calling for steps that will perpetuate the rift and pave the way for the establishment of two [Palestinian] entities, and not two Palestinian states, in the West Bank and in Gaza. Given this situation, it would be easy for Israel to strengthen the process of consolidating a political entity in Gaza, and crushing the opportunity to establish an independent entity in the West Bank. If this is the case, I believe that once again it is necessary to remove all barriers between the West Bank and Israel, and to permit our people, on both sides of the fence, to make contact and to mingle in a natural manner, since this is preferable to living in a great prison that is called the West Bank - or, more precisely, the Palestinian Authority areas."
Click to view bulletin
» View analysis citing this item