Bennett's UN strategy: Engaging the world without the Palestinians

• Author: LAHAV HARKOV
• Published date: 23 September 2021
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

These are some of the words sources close to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett used in recent days to describe the persistence of those within the Israeli government and outside it to constantly bring up the issue of the Palestinians.

And the Palestinians are expected to be mostly absent from Bennett's speech at the United Nations General Assembly on Monday.

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Bennett has opposed a Palestinian state, on both ideological and national security grounds, consistently throughout his public life.

When he first ran for office, Bennett often said Israel has enough to offer so that its relations with the world should not revolve around the Palestinians.

In 2013, in his first term as an MK and minister, Bennett famously compared dealing with the Palestinian issue to a friend who has shrapnel in his behind, saying that the surgery to remove it would be worse than living with the shrapnel.

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid supports a two-state solution, a long-standing position as well.

When Bennett and Lapid formed a coalition together, they both said that no progress can be made on that front, but the government would take steps to improve the Palestinians' quality of life.

But, of course, just because Bennett and Lapid say talks with the Palestinians are not in the cards doesn't mean that everyone has to listen. Many of the statements by foreign leaders at their meetings with Bennett and Lapid included calls for a two-state solution. Whether Bennett was meeting with US President Joe Biden in the Oval Office or Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Sharm e-Sheikh or King Abdullah in Amman – they all pushed the Palestinian issue.

Meanwhile, Defense Minister Benny Gantz and President Isaac Herzog seem to have an enthusiasm for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas that has not been seen from Jerusalem in years, with the former meeting the rais in Ramallah and the latter speaking with him on the phone numerous times. Regional Cooperation Minister Esawi Frej has been encouraging Israeli ministers to meet with their Palestinian counterparts.

Lapid has said he is not seeking a meeting with Abbas, because the PA continues its suit against Israel in the International Criminal Court and its policy of paying terrorists who killed Israelis. However, he recently presented his plan to facilitate economic growth for Gaza in order to weaken...