Ze'ev Elkin, strategic thinking
Ze'ev Elkin, strategic thinkingFlash 90

Environmental Protection Minister and cabinet member Zeev Elkin (Likud) spoke this morning (Wednesday) at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, marking the 24th anniversary of the signing of the Oslo Accords.

"Abbas has rendered the Palestinian system completely impotent and that's what's allowed him to survive until now," Elkin said.

According to him, the PA chairman does not leave behind himself an orderly system of government: "He is Oslo's undertaker and he is consciously doing this," added Elkin. "Not many people remember but Abbas was the one who whispered in Arafat's ear and motivated him to continue and he apparently will bury it," he said.

Elkin further said that Israel is not well-prepared for the post-Abbas era.He explained that the challenges facing Israel on the security front, i.e., confronting the PAs regular forces and the Tanzim would be a problem that would be difficult to deal with.

According to Minister Elkin, any security official or wealthy individual can hire himself an armed force in order to take control, whether over the entire PA or over a certain area.He warned that it would create anarchy.

Minister Elkin estimated that there are additional challenges that need to be addressed in the post-Abbas era, such as the challenge of controlling the population that will fall upon Israel, and the challenge of intervention in education, religion, and media in the PA that Israel is currently avoiding.Elkin also does not expect elections to be held in the PA after Abbas's departure.