Daily Alert Archives

Pressuring the PA Is Key to Ending Terrorist Payments

(Jerusalem Post) 13 Senior Former Israeli Security Officials - The Palestinian Authority considers legitimate all forms of "struggle" to achieve their goals and therefore pays salaries both to incarcerated and released terrorists from every terrorist organization, including Hamas, according to PA law that refers to the terrorists as the "fighting sector of Palestinian society." Providing funds to the PA to enable it to keep paying those salaries, which are soliciting terrorism, is illogical, illegal and immoral. There is no chance that the PA will stop paying those salaries unless it is pressured politically, legally, and most of all economically. The U.S., Europe and Israel have approached the Palestinians on this matter many times and beyond cosmetic adjustments nothing has changed. Even confronted with direct demands from the new U.S. administration, the PA makes it clear that it is not going to make a real change in its terrorist payments policy. Only real, tangible pressure will make the PA leadership seriously consider the need to change. There is no reason to believe that if the U.S. Congress passes the Taylor Force Act, the PA's security cooperation with Israel is going to stop. The security cooperation serves the interests of the PA. It is focused on thwarting terrorist attacks planned by Hamas, the PA's nemesis, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Islamic State. These attacks may kill Israelis, but are also intended to embarrass the PA and weaken it in the power struggle against Hamas. The real threats to the PA are its commitment to unattainable political goals and to a long-lasting struggle against Israel instead of a genuine peace process, its low level of functioning, the corruption and the lack of a system that guarantees popular trust in the leadership. There is little we can do about these, but supporting the just demand to stop paying terrorists with real pressure is very much in accord with Israel's security interests. Lt.-Gen. (ret.) Moshe Ya'alon served as defense minister and IDF chief of staff. Maj.-Gen. (ret.) Amos Yadlin, director of Tel Aviv University's Institute for National Security Studies, is former head of IDF Military Intelligence. Maj.-Gen. (ret.) Uzi Dayan is former national security adviser and deputy chief of staff. Brig.-Gen. Yossi Kuperwasser is former head of the IDF Intelligence Directorate's research and assessment division. Prof. Uzi Arad is former national security adviser and head of the National Security Council. MK Yaakov Peri is former head of the Israel Security Agency. Maj.-Gen. MK Eyal Ben-Reuven, Maj.-Gen. (ret.) MK Elazar Stern, Maj.-Gen. (ret.) Yaakov Even, Maj.-Gen. (ret.) Gershon Hacohen, Maj.-Gen. (ret.) Yaakov Lapidot, Brig.-Gen. (ret.) Oded Tira, Col. (ret.) Ephraim Laor
2017-06-28 00:00:00
Full Article