Defense Minister Benny Gantz is expected to meet next week with Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, Channel 12 News reported.
This will be the second meeting between Gantz and Abbas this year, and comes against the backdrop of a series of lone-wolf terrorist attacks in Jerusalem, including one fatal attack.
The purpose of the latest meeting is to strengthen Abbas and the Palestinian Authority, so that Hamas will not be strengthened in Judea and Samaria. Several proposals for security and economic cooperation that will assist the PA in its day-to-day operations will be presented.
Regional Cooperation Minister Issawi Frej will also join Gantz in his visit to Ramallah. Frej told Channel 12 News that the situation in the PA is "on the verge of collapse."
"The mood of the PA spreads to its citizens. It controls the area through 200,000 salaries, and it does not have the ability to pay it so it pays half salaries, resulting in it having no control over the street." According to him, this is the cause of the current wave of terrorism.
Gantz previously met with Abbas in August to discuss measures to strengthen the PA's economy. Following the meeting, Israel agreed to loan the PA NIS 500 million.