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Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, Israel’s chief peace negotiator, waded into the apparent spat between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Economy Minister and Jewish Home leader Naftali Bennett over the future of West Bank settlers.

Representatives from Netanyahu’s office suggested this week that in the event of a peace agreement, settlers be given the choice of relocating to Israeli sovereign areas or remaining under Palestinian rule, an idea rejected out of hand by Palestinian Authority (PA) officials. Bennett sharply criticised the suggestion, saying that Netanyahu had “lost his moral compass.” According to most Israeli dailies this morning, Netanyahu is furious at Bennett’s comments and intends to reprimand him. Haaretz says Netanyahu is particularly angry that Bennett “damaged the Prime Minister’s attempt to prove that the true denier of peace is the PA.”

Speaking last night in Tel Aviv, Livni disapproved of such a strategy, saying that the purpose of peace talks “is not to unmask the other side and prove that there is no partner, but to arrive at a peace agreement that will serve our interests.” She added that “the future is a Jewish and democratic state, and in order to protect it we need to come to an agreement and give away part of the land.” Livni explained that there would need to be a withdrawal in stages in order to create an independent Palestinian state and that, “There is no contradiction between our demand for security and the Palestinian demand for sovereignty – even if it takes time.”

Meanwhile, Israel’s former Military Intelligence chief, Amos Yadlin spoke ahead of a conference hosted by the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), which he heads. Yadlin said that if peace talks with the PA do not bear fruit, Israel should unilaterally withdraw from 85 per cent of the West Bank. He commented, “We prefer this process over remaining with the status quo” while recognising that “unilateral action has a bad image because of the withdrawal from Lebanon and the withdrawal from Gaza.”