Hamas’s decision to appoint Oct. 7 mastermind Yahya Sinwar as its paramount leader proves that Israel should retain full security control west of the Jordan River, Foreign Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday.
“Israel must maintain control over security and foreign affairs to prevent the establishment of another Iranian-Islamist extremist stronghold and enable Palestinians to manage their internal affairs,” Katz tweeted.
An Israeli withdrawal from Judea, Samaria and Gaza would “lead to the creation of another Iranian outpost in the region, which would explode in the face of the world and all regional countries,” he said.
“The solution is Palestinian self-management in Judea and Samaria, allowing them to manage their own lives,” Katz added.
According to Jerusalem’s top diplomat, the international community “must see reality as it is and support Israel, which currently stands at the forefront of the battle against the Iranian and extremist Islamist axis.”
He noted that the Palestinian Authority, which has self-rule in parts of Judea and Samaria, survives only due to incessant Israel Defense Forces raids against Iran-backed terrorist groups.
Katz accused Tehran of supplying the region with large quantities of arms and funding in an attempt to open “another terror front from the east against Israel’s major population centers.”
The election of Yahya Sinwar as the leader of Hamas must send a clear message to the world that the Palestinian issue is now completely controlled by Iran and Hamas.
— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) August 7, 2024
Without Israeli action in Gaza, the area would fall entirely under Hamas control. In Judea and Samaria, Abbas and… pic.twitter.com/MtHWswqBBq
As the IDF fights Hamas in Gaza, Tehran continues to instigate terrorism in Judea and Samaria by flooding the territory with weapons, The New York Times reported in April, citing U.S., Israeli and Iranian officials.
The majority of the weapons smuggled into Judea and Samaria are small arms and assault rifles, analysts said. However, the Islamic Republic is also smuggling in advanced weaponry, including anti-tank missiles and rocket-propelled grenades, the American and Israeli officials said.
Palestinian terrorist groups might be able to fire advanced rockets at central Israel from Samaria within a year, Palestinian Authority security officials told Israel’s Kan News public broadcaster in June.
Last month, Israeli lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to reject the establishment of a Palestinian state. The July 17 resolution, which was put forward by MK Ze’ev Elkin of the New Hope-National Right Party with support from the Yisrael Beiteinu Party, passed by 68 to 9.
“The existence of a Palestinian state in the heart of Israel would pose an existential threat to the State of Israel and its citizens, would further extend the Israel-Palestinian Arab conflict, and be a source of destabilization for the entire region,” the resolution’s text explained.
“It would be only a matter of time before Hamas takes over such a Palestinian state and turns it into a base for radical Islamic terrorism in full alignment with the Iranian regime that aims to eradicate the State of Israel,” it continued.
