‘Issue Palestinian Authority an ultimatum’

Transportation Minister Bezalel Smotrich (National Union) on Saturday night called on Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to demand the Palestinian Authority (PA) retract its demand that Israel be investigated for war crimes.

“A good week to you, Mr. Prime Minister,” he said. “Forget about the prosecutor. The fact that the court is a political and anti-Semitic body – this we all know. Give the PA a 48-hour ultimatum. They can either retract their demand, or you will bring them down immediately.”

“You should have done this a long time ago, when it demanded and received the status of an observer state, and when it submitted a complaint in 2015.

“The benefits the PA’s existence provides Israel with have not been worth the heavy diplomatic damage it causes us, for a long time. Destroy Khan al-Ahmar tomorrow morning, and every day, destroy another illegal settlement of the Arabs and Europeans. In a war, like in war, take a heavy toll from every side.

“In the coming year you will heave US backing, and that is certainly enough,” he added.