Jewish Home Chairman and Education Minister Naftali Bennett opened this afternoon's party meeting by attacking Abbas' speech of last night, and called to apply Israeli sovereignty to Judea and Samaria.
"The time has come to think about the day after, and the time has come for us to all internalize the end of the era of the Palestinian state, and the beginning of the era of sovereignty."
Bennett added, "Abbas and the idea of a Palestinian state are fading away, and the man has lost his connection to reality."
In a speech to the PLO's Central Committee, Abbas lambasted American President Donald Trump, attacked the State of Israel, and denied its right to exist.
Abbas said that "they wanted to bring the Jews from Europe to protect the interests of the Europeans in the region, and they asked the Netherlands, which had the largest fleet in the world, to transfer the Jews." According to Abbas, "Israel is a colonial project that has nothing to do with the Jews."
The Education Minister said that the political environment had changed significantly since he proposed abandoning the two-state solution in favor of Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria, turning what then seemed impossible into a viable option in 2018.
"Six years ago, we placed the sovereignty plan on the public agenda. At that time we were at the height of negotiations with the Palestinians to establish a state, and sovereignty seemed far-reaching.
"In the meantime, the reality has changed completely and everyone understands that the vision of a Palestinian state has dropped from the agenda, and therefore we have to move to an optimistic and pioneering message of sovereignty. A national and political consensus is emerging. My friend, Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, also supports the immediate application of sovereignty over the blocs. The time for sovereignty has arrived, and it's time to bring this idea from potential to reality. We're in a very unique window on this matter."
Bennett later referred to the issue of arranging Havat Gilad official status: "Last Tuesday Rabbi Raziel Shevach was assassinated." Rabbi Shevach, a father of six children, was murdered in a shooting attack in Samaria last week. "Raziel's actions bear out his will: Building the land, loving people, sanctifying God's name, and devotion.
"Listen to what his widow Yael said: 'We made a very big sacrifice, we want to feel that the government feels we deserve a home, we deserve to be happy, we deserve to be regulated, we will not fight for every piece of land.' We have all been to Havat Gilad in recent days, and it's no secret that the land is owned by Jews and registered in the Land Registry. There's no legal impediment to settling the place. The decision is purely political," added Bennett.
"We expect the Prime Minister to bring Havat Gilad to vote in the government as early as next Sunday. Settling Havat Gilad, arranging the entire farm, is true justice. And it will happen," Bennett stressed.