Netanyahu Decries Palestinian Authority Weapons Transfer as ‘Fake News’ After Blowback From Own Government

i24 News — Israel’s governing coalition is up in arms, following a report that the Israeli Defense Ministry approved the transfer of US weapons to Ramallah. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the details were presented as “fake news.”

According to a report from Israel’s Army Radio on Wednesday, the recent shipment of over 1,500 rifles and 8 armored vehicles from the United States to the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) security forces received approval from the Israeli Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT).

COGAT is a unit within Israel’s Defense Ministry that implements civilian policy in the West Bank, and falls under the authority of Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who under the current coalition agreement is also a minister within the Defense Ministry overseeing civilian affairs in the West Bank.

The report comes as sources within the Finance Ministry revealed that Smotrich was kept in the dark about the approval, and is reportedly furious about the situation.

The sources suggest that the transfer of weapons is part of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s strategy to forge a new unity government with former Defense Minister Benny Gantz.

“There is no limit to the 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 responded.

“What we did do was implement a decision made by Defense Minister Benny Gantz [in the Bennet-Lapid government] in January 2022, to transfer a number of armored vehicles to replace other armored vehicles that had become obsolete,” he added.

“That’s what we’ll do. No armor, no tanks, no Kalashnikovs, no nothing. So sometimes the fake news isn’t impervious either, and it’s good to puncture its lies,” the Israeli prime minister concluded.

Smotrich is scheduled to convene an urgent meeting later today to address the matter. In response to the transfer, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir also lashed out at the decision.

“I tell the prime minister that if you really authorized the transfer of weapons to the terrorists from the Palestinian Authority, he should know he has no mandate to do so, and I don’t understand why we formed this government,” Ben-Gvir said at a gathering of police to celebrate the upcoming Rosh Hashanah holiday.

In response to the reports, the Israeli Defense Ministry issued the following statement: “Contrary to the misrepresentations drawn from different reports, since Defense Minister Yoav Gallant took office, there has been no approval for the transfer of arms or lethal weapons to the Palestinian Authority. Any attempt to present things differently is false.”

According to Palestinian newspaper Al-Quds, the arms shipment was approved by the Israeli government to help PA security forces regain control across the West Bank.

Terror groups like the al-Ayyash Battalion, have flourished in cities like Jenin, and in the absence of Palestinian Authority security forces, the Israeli army has repeatedly sought to clamp down on terror activity.

The Ramallah-based PA has been struggling to maintain security throughout the West Bank, and is met with heavy resistance when it does, as terror groups funded by Iran continue to threaten regional stability.

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