Netanyahu rejecting Ben-Gvir's Ramadan demand signals a return to sanity - opinion

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to accept the recommendation of the security establishment to allow the entry of Israeli Arabs into the Temple Mount during the month of Ramadan, contrary to the opinion and recommendation of National Security Minister Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, is a much needed return to sanity.

This is a sanity that has not characterized Netanyahu's decisions since the formation of his government, which is supported by the delusional extremism of the parties of Bezalel Smotrich and Ben-Gvir. Until now, it seemed that Ben-Gvir was controlling Netanyahu and threatening to dissolve the government, if his delusional and dangerous demands for the security of the state were not met. Netanyahu time and time again surrendered to the irresponsible decisions of Ben-Gvir. This time, however, Netanyahu realized that surrendering to Ben-Gvir is setting fire to a powder keg in the Muslim world, and in the Muslim Israeli Arab sector in particular.

The State of Israel is in the most difficult and fragile period since its independence.

The southern war front is complex and complicated after five months of hard fighting, during which many IDF soldiers fell in combat and numerous others were injured. There are more than a hundred hostages in Hamas captivity who are dying in tunnels underground, and there is no telling when this nightmare will end. No one knows, when the hostages, the living and the dead, will return to Israel, just as we do not know what will be the fate of the military confrontation on the northern border and when the 60,000 evacuees who fled the North will be able to return to their homes.

Ben-Gvir wants to open a front with the Arabs of Israel and the Muslim world, to sever our ties with Jordan, to jeopardize the cold peace with Egypt, and to sabotage the important attempts to tighten ties with Saudi Arabia and other Muslim countries. He has an interest in worsening relations with the US and other supporting countries, and causing a high probability of a flare-up and another intifada, which will bring many deadly attacks.

The prime minister regained his composure when he decided to prefer common sense, judgment and proper sanity, over personal and political considerations, and refused the proposal to prevent Israeli Arabs from ascending the Temple Mount in the month of Ramadan, because he estimated that such a decision was like declaring an all-out war, which would turn into a religious war, which is more dangerous than any other crisis.

The Arabs of Israel have acted very responsibly thus far during the war, and have not responded to attempts of Hamas in Gaza and in the West Bank to harm the delicate and fragile fabric of relations between Jewish and Arab Israelis. We should hope that the pressures of the extremists will not affect Netanyahu's responsible decision making abilities, which must be based on the recommendations of the professional level, including warnings from the head of the security council, and the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency).