Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded today (Wednesday) to reports about the transfer of weapons and armored vehicles to the Palestinian Authority, denying the claims he described as "fake news". In his words, he repeated the claim that this is the implementation of a decision made by the Bennett and Lapid government last year.
"There is no limit to fake news, so here are the facts, since this government was established, it has not transferred any weapons, not even one to the Palestinian Authority," Netanyahu said. "What we did do was implement a decision made by Defense Minister Benny Gantz (in the Bennet-Lapid government) on January 22', to transfer a number of armored vehicles to replace other armored vehicles that have become obsolete."
According to him, "this is what we will do, no armored cars, no tanks, no Kalashnikovs, no nothing. So sometimes even fake news is not protected, and it is good that we puncture this lie."
As mentioned, this morning Doron Kadosh announced on the IDF radio station that the shipment that left the US bases in Jordan, and passed to the Palestinian Authority, in coordination with Israel, through the Allenby crossing, included about 1,500 weapons, including M-16 rifles, laser pointers and Kalashnikov rifles . It was also reported that the Palestinian Authority requested this equipment a year ago, but then Israel refused. What apparently changed Israel's position is the regional summits held this year in Jordan, with the participation of senior Israeli and Palestinian officials.
In response, the right-wing parties in the coalition were outraged and claimed that they were excluded from this step. Those close to Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich told us that in the minister's surrounding they learned about this issue through reports in the media, with Netanyahu and Defense Minister Gallant completely isolating him and his environment. As a result, the finance minister's environment estimates that the move is part of preparing the ground, in conjunction with the negotiations at the president's residence, to establish a left-wing government together with Knesset member Benny Gantz.
Following this, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced that, despite the reports, no weapons were transferred to the Palestinian Authority, but only armored vehicles. In response to reporters' inquiries, the minister's office stated that: "Contrary to the misrepresentation emerging from the various reports, since Defense Minister Yoav Gallant took office, the transfer of lethal weapons or weapons to the Palestinian Authority has not been approved. Any attempt to present things in a different way is false and a sin against the truth."
