Foreign Affairs and Security Committee member and chairman of World Likud MK Dan Danon visited the Israel National News studio in Jerusalem to comment on the criticism surrounding the transfer of military hardware to the Palestinian Authority and the explicit denial by the Prime Minister.
"The Palestinian Authority must not be trusted with anything. It is clear to us that if a gun or a bullet goes to them, we do not know where it will go. Therefore, I think the Prime Minister made it clear that we are not transferring any weapons to the Palestinian Authority. Right now, it is about transferring armored vehicles, a decision that was made during the time of the previous government, and I also assume that there is American pressure. The Likud government will not pass a single bullet into the hands of the Palestinian Authority," says Danon.
He adds, "We have seen the limited ability of the Palestinians to fight terrorism, and there have been many cases where police officers from within the Palestinian Authority have carried out attacks. That is why we say that we will only rely on ourselves."
Danon also offers a solution to the growing terrorism in the area of the village of Huwara after another shooting attack that took place there this week in which two Jews were moderately injured. "The answer is very simple - to close the shops in Huwara. This is a simple decision that we have to make now. Not to close forever but for a few months until the bypass road is completed, and then it will be possible to reopen them. If there is no trade on this route, the army will have better control, and so the road will be safe for Israelis to travel. As long as these stores are open - we suffer attacks every day. I've been demanding this for months, and it's not happening."
To the question about the place of the expected meeting between Prime Minister Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden and the fact that the Americans are not inviting Netanyahu to the White House, Danon answers: "The mere existence of the meeting is very important. There are serious issues on the agenda, such as the Iranian issue and the strengthening of Hezbollah, and it is very good that the meeting is taking place."
"I don't see the importance of the location. In terms of the image, it may look better in the White House, but in terms of the essence, there is no difference at all. There was an American desire to convey a message, and we received it. Now we need to talk about the agreement with the Iranians and the 16 billion dollars that are going to go to Iran soon, and part of that amount will be transferred to terrorist organizations and will affect us. There is a lot to talk about with President Biden."
In his estimation, the conversation between Netanyahu and Biden will not focus on legal reform but on other issues. "Here, we attach great importance to the issue of reform, and it sucks the oxygen out of everything that is happening around us. I think that President Biden has other important issues to talk about with Netanyahu. It is true that he has problems with our government - but less on the issue of reform and more on the issue of construction in Judea and Samaria, and we are dealing with this."