Likud Knesset Member Silvan Shalom has stated that a dispute between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Israel on who should control the proposed direct passage between Gaza and Judea and Samaria should "serve as a wake-up call." He told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, "We should pay attention to what the Palestinians are saying. They usually state what they're thinking about doing." 

He spoke after Defense Minister Ehud Barak said that Israel would retain sovereignty over the proposed link, which is to include tunnels or bridges. Barak noted that difficulties in negotiating with the PA are based on their inability to accept a two-state solution.