Galant slams Bennett, Lieberman squabbling: 'It's weakening Israel'
'It's irresponsible to discuss Cabinet matters in the media,' Housing Minister Galant says of recent exchange of blows between the two senior ministers. 'When it comes to state security, I expect them to act in a stately and responsible manner.'
Construction Minister Yoav Galant criticized Thursday the recent clashes between Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Education Minister Naftali Bennett, saying their public feud is harming and weakening Israel.
"The Security Cabinet is sacred to me, this is how I've treated security matters my entire life, and I expect the ministers to act accordingly," Galant told Ynet in an interview. "When it comes to state security, I expect them to act in a stately and responsible manner."
"It's irresponsible to discuss Cabinet matters in the media. A public discussion in the media weakens the State of Israel. It's very important to maintain discretion," he stressed.
Galant praised US President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and move the American embassy to the city. "There is a difference between words and actions. Moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem was of the utmost importance," he said.
But when it comes to the "higher price" Trump said Israel would have to pay in negotiations with the Palestinians, Galant asserted that "When we hear what is on the agenda, we will know better" how to respond.
He did, however, took a hawkish position on peace talks with the Palestinians. "In my opinion, there are irreconcilable gaps affected by the irresponsible behavior of the Palestinian Authority over the years, as well as the lack of leadership stemming from the Palestinian unwillingness to acknowledge the existence of a Jewish, democratic, thriving country in the Middle East," the minister explained.
"Time after time we see the same thing—there's friction, followed by an international or Israeli proposal for a solution, the Palestinians object, there's war—an intifada or other terror acts—the Palestinians are completely defeated and so forth," he continued.
He also rejected attempts to reach a long-term "arrangement" with Hamas in Gaza.
"There's no arrangement with Hamas, only an ongoing campaign. In this campaign we have a period of lull from time to time... there's no process of arrangement with a terror organization, but continuous fighting, which unfortunately I've known for decades, it hasn't changed. The way it seems—there's a process of reaching a lull. It serves the State of Israel as long as it's a technical process, and I believe that would be the case," he asserted.
The former army general suggested to read between lines of US National Security Advisor John Bolton's comments that the Trump administration is not currently not discussing possible US recognition of Israel's claim of sovereignty over the Golan Heights.
"I suggest to listen to what John Bolton said. He's a serious man I know well. He said the topic is not being discussed, he didn't say they recognize or don't recognize Israeli sovereignty" over the Golan, Galant stressed.
"One thing is clear: Syria, after falling apart, is being reconstructed. As part of this reconstruction, our interests will also be taken into consideration," he explained.
"The Golan Heights is northern Israel's insurance and, in many ways, Israel's insurance as well. It would've been bad for us if the Golan Heights, during this entire time (with the civil war) in Syria, was not in our hands. This isn't something that can be traded, it's not something someone else can dictate to us what to do. The Golan Heights is land with Israeli sovereignty," he added.
