Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is caught between a rock and a hard place. He promised US President Joe Biden at their Aug. 27 White House meeting to take steps to improve the lives and economic opportunities of Palestinians. But his predecessor Benjamin Netanyahu is constantly breathing down his neck, seeking every opportunity to portray him as a leftist. He is hemmed in by Biden and the left-leaning partners in his governing coalition — the Labor, Meretz and Ra’am parties — and on the other side by Netanyahu, his followers and the pledges he himself made in the past as a far-right politician.
Defense Minister Benny Gantz came to the rescue Aug. 29. Just hours after Bennett’s return from Washington, Gantz met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah. This first top-level meeting between the sides in over a decade reflected the policy Bennett had just presented at the White House: Goodwill gestures toward the Palestinians and economic moves to bolster the Palestinian Authority and distinguish it from the hard-line Hamas rulers in Gaza.
But reality is far more complex than the promises made thousands of miles away. Bennett's associates were furious at Gantz, accusing him of calling undo attention to the meeting and trying to create the impression that in addition to economic and security issues, he and Abbas also discussed diplomatic and political matters. After all, Bennett promised the right-wing political base (many of them Netanyahu supporters) that there would not be any peace negotiations with the Palestinians on his watch. Gantz, on the other hand, must have felt betrayed and furious that Bennett — who gave his approval for the meeting with Abbas — failed to back him publicly.
The trust between Bennett and Gantz that was frail to begin with was thus further eroded. This crisis shook the fragile coalition for two days until it was overtaken by the hullabaloo of Knesset approval for the budget. Calm was restored after the Sept. 2 budget vote, but the rifle loaded in the first act could still be fired down the line.
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