Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, Israel, July 9, 2023. (PHOTO / POOL / AP)
JERUSALEM / RAMALLAH – Israel's Security Cabinet decided on Sunday that Israel will take steps to prevent the collapse of the internationally-recognized Palestinian Authority, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement.
According to the statement, Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant will submit to the Security Cabinet steps "to stabilize the civil situation" in the West Bank.
Israel will also demand the Palestinian Authority cease its efforts to push for an investigation by the International Criminal Court into alleged Israeli war crimes, and stop payments to the families of Palestinian prisoners jailed for attacks against Israelis, the prime minister's office said.
On Sunday, Palestine called on US President Joe Biden to interpret his words criticizing the Israeli government into practical measures that protect the Palestinian people.
In a statement, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry urged US President Joe Biden to "stop the expansion of Israeli settlement" and "to compel the Israeli government to engage in a political track of negotiations to resolve the conflict."
In a statement, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry urged Biden to "stop the expansion of Israeli settlement" and "to compel the Israeli government to engage in a political track of negotiations to resolve the conflict."
"The Israeli government's continuation in its illegal settlement will expose it not only to accountability in accordance with the rules of international law and UN resolutions but also to UN sanctions," it said.
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Biden said on Sunday that the current Israeli government has some "of the most extreme members" he's seen in Israel, according to The Times of Israel news website.
"The Israeli cabinet ministers who back settling anywhere they want in the West Bank are part of the problem in the conflict," Biden added.
The statement welcomed what it described as "the unprecedented slap that President Biden has dealt to the Israeli government for the first time."
It also called on Biden's administration "to fulfill its announced commitments to the Palestinian cause and to support the legal approaches of Palestine in international forums."
Despite international criticism, Israel seized the West Bank, along with East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, in the 1967 Middle East war and has maintained control over these territories, where the Palestinians wish to establish their future state.
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In 2013, the United States sponsored direct peace talks between Israel and Palestine for nine months. However, the talks stopped in late March 2014 following deep disputes on settlements and the border of the Palestinian state.