The Israeli army is urging its government to strengthen the Palestinian Authority by providing more weapons and releasing Palestinian prisoners.
An unnamed senior military Israeli official was quoted in several Israeli newspapers as saying that the army is concerned about the possible disintegration of the Palestinian Authority and an end to security cooperation with Israel. The officer said that if violence increases, it could spread anarchy throughout the West Bank.
The army official said most of the attackers who have killed 22 Israelis in the past two months are “lone wolves” and that the current wave of violence is a “limited uprising.” One hundred Palestinians also have died, some of them attackers and others in clashes with the Israeli army.
The army’s recommendations were apparently made several months ago, and will now have to be revisited, Israeli military sources said. The recommendations include providing light weapon and bulletproof vehicles to the Palestinian Authority’s security forces. That would enable them to enter Palestinian refugee camps in the West Bank to deal with armed gangs that continue to reject the authority of the PA.
The army also recommends allowing Palestinians to export directly from the West Bank to factories in Israel and to increase the number of permits given to Palestinians to work in Israel. The army even called on the government to allow more Palestinians to legally build homes in Area C, the 60 percent of the West Bank under sole Israeli control.
Palestinian officials said that even if these suggestions were adopted, they still would not be enough to change the climate between Israelis and Palestinians.
“First of all, this is only a leaked document and not an official statement,” said Xavier Abu Eid, the spokesman for the Palestine Liberation Organization. “In any case this is far short of what is needed. We need a political horizon that talks about ending the occupation.”
Despite the past two months of violence, Israeli-Palestinian security cooperation has continued as usual. Israeli and Palestinian security officials continue to meet frequently, and Palestinians try to stop any planned
attacks on Israelis. Israelis who wander into Area A of the West Bank (the 18 percent that is under full Palestinian control) are rescued by Palestinian security officers and returned unharmed to Israel.
“Israel does not believe that [Mahmoud]Abbas is an active supporter of terrorism. He’s not [Yasser] Arafat,” said Jonathan Rynhold, a security expert at Bar-Ilan University. “Israel benefits from the security cooperation and the Israeli army wants it to continue.”
The current violence is still limited, said Rynhold and others, but could spread. The Israeli army tries to limit casualties at demonstrations, knowing that can increase anger and lead to more attacks. Many Palestinians already believe that Israeli soldiers have responded to the attacks with disproportional force.
The Israeli army source told reporters that the army expects the current violence to continue for about two months. The stabbing attacks have left Israelis feeling unsettled, with many now carrying pepper spray.
Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said Israel will complete a high-tech smart fence in the south to stop attackers from the West Bank area of Hebron. Israel has been building a barrier in and around the West Bank for a decade, but gaps still exist. The terrorist who stabbed four Israelis in the town of Kiryat Gat on Nov. 28 reportedly came through the fence.
“We are aware of a problem with the fence,” Ya’alon said. “We intend to build a more massive fence similar to the fence on the Egyptian border. It’ll take a little time, but it will happen.”