US pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu led to a major change to the agenda of the special cabinet meeting held Tuesday with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir in attendance, Israel Hayom has learned. 

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What was originally supposed to be a discussion on the rise of violence in Jenin and how to address it became a meeting on the violence of Jewish settlers. 

Officials told Israel Hayom they were surprised to learn of the change, which they said came following US pressure on Netanyahu as settler violence is gaining global criticism. 

Similar pressure was also exerted by the European Union on the Israeli Foreign Ministry and the Prime Minister's Office. 

Sources criticized Gallant, however, saying he was "more preoccupied with settler violence than Palestinian terrorism." Shortly before Tuesday's cabinet meeting, Gallant said he had met with the head of the Palestinian Authority's General Authority of Civil Affairs Hussein al-Sheikh and "harshly condemned" the recent violence. 

According to a Defense Ministry statement, "the two discussed the recent increase in terror incidents as well as the common need to calm the situation on the ground."

Gallant stressed that the Defense Ministry will act to thwart terrorism "wherever required" and emphasized the need to act against terror hubs that seek to destabilize the region. 

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Days after Israel Hayom reported that the government was poised to allocate hundreds of millions of shekels to double the population of the Golan Heights, cabinet members approved the massive spending plan. Cabinet members were tested for COVID ahead of the special meeting at Kibbutz Mevo Hama on the Golan.

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The Golan Heights development program, which Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Justice Minister Gideon Sa'ar are spearheading, includes an investment of over 500 million shekels ($159 million) to create more housing on the Golan, particularly in the community of Katzrin (the largest Jewish town in the Golan Heights), improve local infrastructure, found two new communities (to be named Asif and Matar), each of which would comprise thousands of housing units.

The plan also includes extensive demining budgets to clear large swaths of land and have them transferred from military to civilian control. About a quarter of the funds will go to improving public transportation so that residents of the area would be able to travel more easily to major cities in central Israel for work and pleasure.

A major component of the plan will include a boost to emergency medical care providers and a revamping of the education system, thus allowing more access to a variety of schooling options.

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Three days after its inauguration, the new government on Wednesday approved the composition of its diplomatic-security cabinet. The government also approved the establishment of a ministerial committee on foreign service appointments.

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Prime Minister Naftali Bennett will preside over the new diplomatic-security cabinet. Its other members include: Prime Minister-designate and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid; Defense Minister Benny Gantz; Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman; Justice Minister Gideon Sa'ar; Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked; Transportation and Road Safety Minister Merav Michaeli; Public Security Minister Omer Bar-Lev; Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz; Education Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton; Housing and Construction Minister Zeev Elkin; Religious Services Minister Matan Kahana.

The ministerial committee on foreign service appointments, meanwhile, will be tasked with vetting candidates for ambassadorial and general consul posts from within the foreign ministry and diplomatic corps, before they are approved by the government.

The committee's new members include Prime Minister-designate and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid; Justice Minister Gideon Sa'ar; Culture and Sports Minister Yechiel Troper; Religious Services Minister Matan Kahana.

Earlier Wednesday, Bennett and Lapid convened their first work meeting together at the Prime Minister's Office.

Also Wednesday, 11 new members of Knesset were sworn in and entered the Knesset within the framework of the controversial Norwegian law – which allows any MK who is appointed to a cabinet post to step down temporarily from the Knesset, thereby permitting the next candidate on the party's slate to enter parliament in their stead. Two more MKs from the Meretz party (Michal Rozin and Gaby Lasky) will be sworn in at a later date after the resignation of the ministers from their party is ratified.

Yamina MK Shirley Pinto became the first deaf member of Knesset after she was sworn into office Wednesday morning using sign language. She replaced Religious Services Minister Matan Kahana under the Norwegian law.

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The Bahrain conference was intended "first and foremost to bring economic growth to the Palestinians and the region as a whole," Netanyahu said.

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The prime minister quoted Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, who said last week that Israel, as a Middle Eastern country, was "part of the heritage of the region" and that "the Jewish people have a place among us."

Al Khalifa also said that "the Israeli public should believe that there are countries in the region that want to achieve peace and are encouraging the Palestinians to make peace."

Netanyahu called the Bahraini official's remarks "very important" and said they were the "direct result of our policy, which is making Israel a powerful force in the region and a rising world power."

"While we are drawing closer to Arab nations, and gradually normalizing relations with them, and while we welcomed the Bahrain conference, which was intended first and foremost to bring economic growth to the Palestinians … the Palestinians were attacking it viciously, against their own interests," Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu said that the Palestinian Authority had recently arrested a Palestinian businessman for the "crime" of taking part in the Bahrain conference. The man was later released due to US diplomatic pressure on Ramallah.

"All this brings one thing to the surface – [that] the Palestinians are determined to continue the conflict at any cost, including the welfare of the Palestinians themselves. That is not how those who want to promote peace operate. We, unlike them, are continuing to foster ties with the Arab world, and that is to everyone's benefit," he said.

Turning to the situation in southern Israel in the face of renewed arson attacks from the Gaza Strip, Netanyahu said, "We completely understand the distress of the communities along the Gaza border, and we are working to ease it as much as possible."

"Last week, we applied stringent sanctions on Hamas, including stopping the supply of fuel. If we need to, we'll use much harsher measures. We carry out these actions after consulting with all the branches of the defense and security establishment."

The prime minister said he was "unimpressed by the propaganda from various 'experts.'"

"A lot of them are giving us advice that they themselves didn't implement when they were in charge. And don't get mixed up – they'll also be the first to criticize us when we launch a wide-scale military operation, which we might be forced to do. So I am guided by only one thing – Israel's security," Netanyahu said.

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