Netanyahu Predicts PA Return to Negotiations If Trump Gets Re-elected

Palestinian youths in clashes with Israeli soldiers in Hebron (EPA)
Palestinian youths in clashes with Israeli soldiers in Hebron (EPA)
TT
20

Netanyahu Predicts PA Return to Negotiations If Trump Gets Re-elected

Palestinian youths in clashes with Israeli soldiers in Hebron (EPA)
Palestinian youths in clashes with Israeli soldiers in Hebron (EPA)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he believes that the Palestinian Authority would return to negotiations with Israel fairly soon. This came in statements published in the US-Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom

“In a closed-door conversation, Netanyahu said that the regional significance of the newly-signed peace deals between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain left the Palestinians no option other than to come back to the table,” Israel Hayom reporter Ariel Kahana wrote.

“However, the prime minister said that talks with the PA would re-launch only after the US presidential election on Nov. 3, and only if US President Donald Trump is re-elected,” he added.

In other news, statements made by US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman to Israel Hayom about Washington considering the unseating of PA President Mahmoud Abbas and replacing him with former Fatah strongman Mohammed Dahlan spurred widespread controversy.

After the rage Friedman’s statements caused, Israel Hayom edited the article to emphasize that the US diplomat’s answer to such speculations was no.

Asked whether the US is considering the possibility of appointing Dahlan, who lives in the UAE, as the next Palestinian leader, Friedman replied: "We're not thinking about it," we have no desire to engineer the Palestinian leadership.

The statement that caused uproar was published on Thursday. Due to the phrasing’s ambiguity, it was understood that the US administration is considering appointing Dahlan as the next Palestinian leader.

PA officials consequentially released vocal statements against such a conspiracy.

As for the impact of the developments on the Palestinians, Friedman said the Palestinian people are not being served properly by their leadership.

"They (the PA) need to join the 21st Century. They are on the wrong side of history at the moment," he said.

"Peace is a once-in-a-generation opportunity," said the ambassador.

After pushing the peace initiative forward and fully capitalizing on it, Friedman said he believes the sovereignty issue can be revisited in a manner that will be less controversial.



Dutch Summon Israeli Ambassador, Impose Travel Ban on Ministers 

Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir (C) attends a plenary session to vote on a bill for applying Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank territory, at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem, 23 July 2025. (EPA)
Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir (C) attends a plenary session to vote on a bill for applying Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank territory, at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem, 23 July 2025. (EPA)
TT
20

Dutch Summon Israeli Ambassador, Impose Travel Ban on Ministers 

Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir (C) attends a plenary session to vote on a bill for applying Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank territory, at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem, 23 July 2025. (EPA)
Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir (C) attends a plenary session to vote on a bill for applying Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank territory, at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem, 23 July 2025. (EPA)

The Netherlands will ban two far-right Israeli ministers from entering the country, in the latest European response to the rapidly deteriorating situation in Gaza, the country's foreign minister said. 

The ban and other measures were announced in a letter Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp sent to lawmakers late Monday evening, declaring “The war in Gaza must stop.” 

The ban targets hard-line National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, key partners in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition. 

The pair are champions of the Israeli settlement movement who support continuing the war in Gaza, facilitating what they call the voluntary emigration of its Palestinian population and the building of Jewish settlements there. 

Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway imposed financial sanctions on the two men last month. 

Later on Tuesday, leaders will meet in Brussels to discuss a European Union response, including evaluating a trade agreement between the bloc and Israel. The Netherlands wants part of that agreement to be suspended. 

Ben-Gvir and Smotrich remained defiant. In a statement on social media, Smotrich said European leaders were surrendering to “the lies of radical Islam” and that Jews may not be able to live safely in Europe in the future. 

Ben-Gvir said he will “continue to act” and said that in Europe “a Jewish minister from Israel is unwanted, terrorists are free, and Jews are boycotted.” 

Pressure has been mounting on the Dutch government, which is gearing up for elections in October, to change course on Israeli policy. Last week, thousands demonstrated at train stations across the country, carrying pots and pans to signify the food shortage in Gaza. 

The government will also summon the Israeli ambassador to the Netherlands to urge Netanyahu to change course and “immediately take measures that lead to a substantial and rapid improvement in the humanitarian situation throughout the Gaza Strip,” Veldkamp wrote. 

After international pressure, Israel over the weekend announced humanitarian pauses, airdrops and other measures meant to allow more aid to Palestinians in Gaza. But people there say little or nothing has changed on the ground. The UN has described it as a one-week scale-up of aid, and Israel has not said how long these latest measures would last. 

Israel asserts that Hamas is the reason aid isn’t reaching Palestinians in Gaza and accuses its fighters of siphoning off aid to support its rule in the territory. The UN denies that looting of aid is systematic and says it lessens or ends entirely when enough aid is allowed to enter Gaza. 

Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, are currently wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. The men are accused of using “starvation as a method of warfare” by restricting humanitarian aid, and of intentionally targeting civilians in Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza. Member states of the ICC are obliged to arrest the men if they arrive on their territory.