The diplomatic initiative presented Aug. 11 by Yesh Atid Chairman and Finance Minister Yair Lapid was based on an action plan formulated by a fellow party member, former Shin Bet head and Minister of Science, Technology and Space Yaakov Peri. The plan calls to convene a regional summit, to demilitarize Gaza and transfer its control to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. From Lapid’s standpoint, it enables him to establish a position in the diplomatic-security realm.
Peri was recruited by Lapid in the last election as the senior diplomatic-security figure in the new party, but until the current conflict with Hamas, Yesh Atid was drawn toward an economic-social agenda and Peri’s role hasn’t been realized. Operation Protective Edge returned the former head of the Shin Bet to the nerve center of decision-making — the diplomatic-security Cabinet, where he serves as an observer. Much has been said about the inexperienced Cabinet with which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu embarked on a war in Gaza, and in this respect, Peri has become an important and balancing element in the long deliberations.
