Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman warned on Monday that the Palestinian legislative elections scheduled for November 28 could pose a security threat to Israel, invoking Hamas's victory in the 2006 election and accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of continuing what he called a policy of "containment" toward the Palestinian Authority.
"Bibi, the father of containment, continues the same policy in the context of Judea and Samaria," Liberman wrote, referring to Netanyahu.
The Palestinian Central Elections Commission is preparing for legislative elections on November 28, the first such vote in two decades. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas's decree calls for Palestinians in the West Bank, east Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip to participate. The commission said preparations for Jerusalem and Gaza remain among the key issues requiring further work.
Liberman said the events of 2006 and 2007 should serve as a warning for Israel ahead of the upcoming vote.
"The last time elections were held in the Palestinian Authority, in 2006, Hamas won and later seized power in the Gaza Strip, and only the IDF stopped it in Judea and Samaria," he said.
Hamas has said it intends to participate in the upcoming elections as part of a broad national coalition. The prospect has prompted renewed discussion over the consequences of the 2006 election and the possibility of Hamas again gaining political influence through the ballot box.
Liberman: Palestinian Authority planning for all-out confrontation
Liberman also focused on the size and capabilities of the Palestinian security services, claiming that the arrangements established under the Oslo framework envisioned approximately 12,000 Palestinian police and security personnel, while the number has since grown to nearly 60,000.
He cited specialized units, including Unit 101 and a unit he identified as "Bat," and claimed their development formed part of preparations by the Palestinian Authority for a future confrontation with Israel.
"All of this is part of the Palestinian Authority's preparation for an all-out confrontation with the State of Israel," Liberman said.
The Yisrael Beytenu leader argued that more than three decades after the Oslo process began, Israel should abandon the framework altogether.
"After 33 years since the signing of the Oslo Accords, it can be determined that the experiment failed, the agreements went bankrupt, and the Palestinian Authority must be dismantled," he said.
Liberman further predicted that the US would recognize a Palestinian state within two and a half years and support a UN Security Council resolution to that effect. He offered no evidence for the prediction, and it represents his assessment rather than an announced US policy.
The planned elections come 20 years after the last Palestinian legislative vote, in which Hamas defeated Fatah. Hamas won 74 of the Palestinian Legislative Council's 132 seats, compared with Fatah's 45. A power struggle followed, culminating in Hamas's takeover of the Gaza Strip in 2007.