Hillel Schenker, our dear friend who co-edits the Palestine-Israel Journal, shared the following message which was published in Haaretz and is from Israel’s Defence Minister. Hilel thought it a positive step and writes: I thought I would share with you the following quote from Defense Minister Gantz in an article in Haaretz, which I think expresses a reasonable, moderate policy which wants to try to calm the situation, though the question is if it will go beyond just words, and also how things develop in the field:

Defense Minister Benny Gantz issued a statement Saturday evening in which he addressed Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, saying, “We are in a difficult period of terror attacks against Israel citizens, a situation that we cannot accept. We are considering the measures we can take in honor of Ramadan in order to allow you to celebrate the holiday in the best way possible, while we at the same time maintain security.”

Continuing, Gantz said, “Recently, in coordination with the Palestinian Authority, we are advancing a series of measures designed to improve the quality of life and the economy in Judea and Samaria and the Gaza Strip – measures whose progress terrorism threatens and on which we can only continue to work if security stability is restored. We want this, and I am sure that the majority of Palestinians also want this.”