Netanyahu, Livni (file)
Netanyahu, Livni (file)Reuters

The leadership of the settlement enterprise in Judea and Samaria is well aware of the secret negotiations being conducted by Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, on behalf of the government of Binyamin Netanyahu, with the Palestinian Authority (PA) – and fears it will lead to an accord on an interim PA state.

Arutz Sheva has learned that in a meeting held in the offices of the Yesha Council – an unofficial federation of Judea and Samaria community leaders – participants expressed their fear that such an accord is indeed being prepared.

Senior Yesha Council members warned that a Palestinian state would endanger the security of Israel. "This is not a threat or a scare tactic – it is a fact," said Yigal Dilmoni, who heads the hasbara (public information) department in the Council.

"The establishment of such a state will not allow IDF soldiers to prevent terror attacks that are organized in Ramallah or Shechem, since international law does not allow such an incursion into a state like the one that is being planned," he said.

After assessing the situation, the Yesha Council decided on a strategic plan in an attempt to block Livni and Netanyahu's apparent designs. The plan includes demonstrations against the idea of an interim state, dissemination of information countrywide, and an intensive round of meetings with ministers, MKs and other officials.

A senior figure in Judea and Samaria who is close to the Prime Minister's Office said in one of the meetings at the Yesha Council that in recent weeks he has identified in Netanyahu "symptoms of Arik Sharon before the retreat" and that preparations must be made for all eventualities.