Israel facilitated the entry of Palestinian Authority (PA) Cabinet ministers into Gaza on Oct. 2 to attend a reconciliation meeting between Fatah and Hamas. It took Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a day to respond to the event. Speaking at a Likud meeting in the West Bank settlement of Ma’ale Adumim, Netanyahu said, “We expect everyone who talks about a peace process to recognize the State of Israel and, of course, to recognize a Jewish state.” He added, “Whoever wants to make such a reconciliation, our understanding is very clear: Recognize the State of Israel, disband the Hamas military arm, sever the connection with Iran, which calls for our destruction.”
Contrary to past statements by Netanyahu opposing Palestinian reconciliation, his props this time did not include threats against Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas or warnings of sanctions. Most of all, his choice of words differed in expression from that in April 2014, when Hamas and Fatah announced the establishment of a national unity government. “Abbas would rather have unity with Hamas than peace with Israel,” Netanyahu had tweeted.
Netanyahu's foreign minister at the time, Avigdor Liberman, concurred, saying that Abbas had to decide whether he wanted to make peace with Israel or with Hamas. Liberman described the signing of the unity agreement as “tantamount to a signature on the end of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.” This time around, at least for the moment, Liberman is keeping quiet. In fact, it was the Defense Ministry, which he now heads, that was responsible for the Palestinian delegation getting into Gaza for talks.
Indeed, Israeli military authorities oversaw the arrangements allowing the 350 Palestinians from the West Bank to cross quickly and efficiently through the Erez crossing into Gaza. The delegation included PA Cabinet members, advisers, officials and security teams. “It went over like a well-coordinated military operation,” an Israeli military source told Al-Monitor, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
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