Israeli Occupation Army Hints at Re-occupying Palestinian Towns
Arab World
Tel Aviv - Asharq Al-Awsat
Israeli occupation army might re-occupy a number of Palestinian cities in the occupied West Bank if it felt that the decision to end coordination might negatively affect the security situation, according to military sources. On Wednesday, the Palestinian Authority (PA) suspended security coordination with Tel Aviv, in protest of the Israeli decision to annex the Jordan Valley and northern Dead Sea lands, in addition to imposing Israeli law on them. Initially, Israeli officials did not take the Palestinian decision seriously and expected coordination to remain effective. However, the security services informed their leaders in Tel Aviv that coordination had been halted. The sources said that the Authority has informed Israel that halting security coordination does not mean its forces will allow chaos in the West Bank. Israeli army leadership in the West Bank is preparing for a situation of “organized chaos”, saying that in all cases it should be ready for a new situation that requires a new policy, which might include the deployment of occupation forces in the Palestinian cities and resumption of field intelligence activities. The sources confirmed that since assuming his position as an Alternate Prime Minister and Defense Minister, Benny Gantz has been initiating contacts with the Palestinian officials for several objectives. Gantz wants to ensure the new situation will not lead to escalation and clashes. He also wants to pave the way for the resumption of peaceful negotiations through understandings between two sides. Earlier, he announced that his support to the annexation plan, given that it is coordinated with Arab neighbors, including the Palestinians. However, the far-right parties of the Israeli government rejected Gantz’s position saying ending the security coordination is a malicious scheme by the PA President Mahmoud Abbas, who wants to draw Hamas into a confrontation with Israel in the event that the Gaza crossings were closed. They said there are several indications of an atmosphere of hostility towards Israel among the Palestinian police and security services. Last Wednesday, a Palestinian policeman pulled his gun at an Israeli vehicle near Nablus and a Palestinian crossing prevented an Israeli patrol from entering Hebron. Meanwhile, a number of Palestinian gunmen of various cities of the occupied West Bank shot several celebratory gunfire in support of Abbas’s recent decisions.
from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2299811/israeli-occupation-army-hints-re-occupying-palestinian-towns
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