(Jerusalem Post) Yaakov Katz and Tovah Lazaroff - Palestinian Authority officials headed by Prime Minister Salaam Fayyad are inciting anti-Israel violence in the West Bank, Israeli defense officials charged on Sunday. Senior PA officials, and specifically Fayyad, are encouraging Palestinian youth to partake in anti-Israel demonstrations on Fridays near security fence construction in Ni'lin and Bi'lin as well as in Hebron. "Fayyad is actively encouraging Palestinians to use popular resistance against Israel," one official said. Israel believes Fayyad wants to continue cooperating with Israel on economic issues, but at the same time has made a strategic decision to retain the right to use violence against Israel. There is concern within the IDF that the PA security forces could turn their weapons against settlers and IDF soldiers in the West Bank. Recent incidents include the stabbing of a soldier at the Tapuah Junction by a PA policeman as well as the involvement of PA security officers in the shooting of Rabbi Meir Chai last year.
2010-03-02 11:04:39Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive