Netanyahu claims trying to prevent collapse of Palestinian Authority

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s so-called security cabinet has claimed the regime will try to prevent the collapse of the Palestinian Authority (PA) following its incursion into areas controlled by the PA in the occupied West Bank.

Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that his security cabinet made the decision on Sunday, with eight votes in favor, one against and one abstention.

According to the statement, Netanyahu and his minister of military affairs would bring forward “steps to stabilize the civil situation in the Palestinian arena.”

The statement, which apparently refers to the escalation of acts of resistance in the occupied West Bank, did not specify concrete steps to achieve the alleged goal.

Israel launched a military campaign against the occupied West Bank city of Jenin in the early hours of July 3, mobilizing upwards of 1,000 troops as means of supposedly damaging the resistance “infrastructure” in the city and the refugee camp that it hosts.

At least 12 Palestinians and one Israeli trooper died as a result of the conflict, during which a steadfast Palestinian resistance response prompted the regime to pull out its forces after less than two days.

Netanyahu’s claim of trying to help the Palestinian Authority comes while the collapse of PA will serve Israel’s interests as it will see the regime controlling the entire West Bank as was the case between 1967 -- when Israeli occupied the territory -- and 1993.

Netanyahu’s cabinet in January announced withholding millions of dollars in tax revenues from the PA as part of a series of measures announced over a push by Ramallah to get the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue an advisory notice over Israel’s actions in the West Bank.

At the time, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said the measures amounted to “a war against the national authority (PA) and its survival.”

Such sanctions, he said, were “aimed at undermining the authority and pushing it to the brink -- financially and institutionally.”

The draft declaration agreed on Sunday presents a series of demands for the PA to “cease its anti-Israel activity in the international legal-diplomatic arena.”

Islamic Jihad blasts Palestinian Authority’s crackdown on resistance

Islamic Jihad condemns the crackdown launched by the Palestinian Authority (PA) on a number of resistance commanders and former prisoners in the occupied West Bank.

The Palestinian Authority, formed in 1993 following the Oslo Accords, controls parts of the occupied West Bank.

The PA, which is run by the ruling Fatah party and led by President Mahmoud Abbas, has seen its popularity shrivel as it is increasingly seen by some Palestinians as an accomplice to the Israeli regime rather than fighting for their rights.

Nearly 700,000 Israelis live in illegal settlements built in violation of international law since the 1967 occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East al-Quds.

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