In September 2016, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman brought forth for debate and approval in the Cabinet a master plan for the expansion of the West Bank city of Qalqilya. It was part of the “carrot-and-stick plan” he devised. Liberman started his job as defense minister some three months earlier, at the height of the wave of Palestinian terrorism — also called the individual intifada — and looked for creative ways to prevent further escalation.

In Liberman’s plan, Palestinian towns were grouped into two categories: those included on the “red list,” from which terrorist attacks emerged; and a “green list” of 15 cities and villages from which terrorists hadn’t come. Liberman allotted benefits for those towns on the green list, which included the expansion of their master plan. The city of Qalqilya was one of them.

Liberman based his plan on the security concept put forward by the army, according to which relief for West Bank residents would lower their level of despair and could stop the spread of terrorism. This would of course be accompanied by a firm hand toward terrorists and their operators.

Thus Liberman — who heads Yisrael Beitenu and is one of the leaders of the Israeli right — presented a pragmatic and creative approach to dealing with the wave of Palestinian terrorism.