The public has been watching Avigdor Liberman with a critical eye since he was appointed defense minister at the end of May. Not only does Liberman lack any background in defense, while he served in the opposition, Liberman was not one to hold back his criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Instead, he insisted on offering his own solutions to eliminate the latest wave of terrorism and topple the Hamas regime in Gaza, and it will be a long time before anyone forgets his promise to kill Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh within 48 hours if Hamas did not return the bodies of Israeli soldiers in its possession since the 2014 war on Gaza.

The surprises from Liberman haven’t stopped since. Take, for example, his attention-grabbing Oct. 24 announcement to the Palestinian Al-Quds newspaper that he would be willing to create an airport and seaport in Gaza provided that Hamas lays down arms.

This week we learned that last month, the Security Cabinet secretly approved a long list of zoning plans and construction permits for Palestinians living in Area C, which is under full Israeli control. It was all part of Liberman’s “carrot and stick” policy.

The plan was prepared by the office of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories under Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, where officials are well aware of the anger and frustration felt by Palestinian residents of Area C. While Palestinians see the housing units for settlers continue to multiply, they are not allowed to build in their own villages because of a supposed lack of approved zoning regulations or master development plan. In an interview with Al-Monitor, Raed Najjar, head of the Burin Village Council, said that the Civil Administration even denied him permission to expand the village school.