Moments before the Netanyahu-Trump meeting: Anger in the US administration at the Israeli minister
While the Prime Minister is scheduled to meet with the US President at a particularly sensitive time, cabinet member Eli Cohen has sparked frustration in Washington. The reason: his support for a petition regarding a suspect accused of abusing a Palestinian.
US administration officials are furious with cabinet member and Minister of Energy Eli Cohen after he signed a petition calling for the release of settler Tal Yinon Dardik, who is suspected of abusing a Palestinian, it was learned by 'Hayom'.
This action comes after Cohen himself voted in favor of a cabinet decision calling to "respect the discretion of law enforcement agencies in areas A and B, which will be carried out in individual coordination with security agencies and subject to operational situational assessment."
Last weekend, Minister of Defense Israel Katz met with Dardik and offered him an alternative of house arrest with friends, but the suspect rejected the offer and demanded to return to his home in Area B, contrary to the cabinet decision calling to respect the enforcement agencies' authority.
A senior Israeli official criticized Cohen, stating:
"Signing such a petition by a minister, who is also a cabinet member who voted in favor of the decision, is complete irresponsibility. He is creating unnecessary friction with the United States precisely at a time when the Prime Minister is visiting there."
The cabinet decision passed unanimously last February, and its core was to ensure that the hands of law enforcement agencies in areas A and B would not be tied. This comes against the backdrop of a demand by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio not to provoke incidents in areas A and B that could undermine the legitimacy of steps to legalize settlements in Area C.
The office of Minister Eli Cohen stated:
"The State of Israel is a state of law. If a citizen is suspected of committing a crime, all legal tools must be used to bring him to justice, and the use of administrative detention should be avoided."
