Palestinian Authority Responds to Bezalel Smotrich's Threats: "Election Propaganda"
The Minister of Finance called on the Prime Minister to take advantage of Abu Mazen's visit to Turkey to ban his re-entry into the West Bank. In response, a senior official in the Authority claims that this is election propaganda by the right, but warns that a series of Israeli measures is intended to bring about the collapse of the Authority.
Member of the PLO Executive Committee Ahmad Majdalani commented on Wednesday on the call by Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich to prevent the return of Abu Mazen to Ramallah from his visit to Turkey. The Palestinian leadership views this as election propaganda, but fears that the threats will be translated into practical policy.
The political storm began following a post on the X network published by the Minister of Finance, in which he referred to the meeting between Abu Mazen and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Smotrich claimed that the visit exposes the true face of the Authority's chairman as an "enemy who stands at the head of a terror authority that encourages and funds terror against the State of Israel." The minister called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take advantage of the opportunity, prevent his re-entry into the West Bank, and added that the Palestinian Authority must be dismantled.
Following these remarks, Abu Mazen's associate, Ahmad Majdalani, responded sharply. In a conversation with the Palestinian news agency "Sawa", Majdalani stated:
"Although these threats are part of election propaganda, they express the true political position of most members of the Israeli government."
Majdalani directed his comments at the government leadership, noting that right-wing leaders, including Benjamin Netanyahu, Itamar Ben Gvir, and Smotrich himself, are sharpening their rhetoric against the Palestinians and their institutions to gain votes at the ballot box. According to him, these statements reflect the true position of the majority of the government.
The senior PLO official linked the statements to economic and political steps that Israel is already taking. "The Israeli authorities have actually begun implementing their plans for annexation and the expansion of settlements. This is in addition to Smotrich's decision to withhold Palestinian tax revenues in order to dry up the resources of the Palestinian Authority and weaken it," he added.
