Minister Naftali Bennett called the Palestinian Authority a “terrorist entity” and declared that Israel must not negotiate with a joint PA-Hamas government.
Ahead of a cabinet meeting to take place today that will deal with the Israeli response to the internal reconciliation agreements between Hamas and the PA, Bennett said that “A Palestinian government that relies on Hamas has become a national terror government. Israel must not cave and hold negotiations with it.”
According to Bennett, “Hamas continues in these days to plan the murder of Israelis and to dig terror tunnels, and it sets in its mind’s eye the goal of destroying Israel. Hamas signed a reconciliation agreement with the PA with the goal of clearing itself and enjoying legitimacy, even as it grows stronger against us.”
Bennett added that “The conclusion is clear: The PA is a terrorist entity. We must not negotiate with it, we must not grant it gestures until conditions are fulfilled: The return of Israeli citizens and the bodies of Israeli soldiers, the comprehensive dismantling of weapons and the adoption of the Quartet conditions.”