Israel’s military Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot warned the Security-Cabinet at the beginning of the week that there is a more than moderate chance that a violent conflagration could erupt in the West Bank adding that the US decision to choke the Palestinians of financial funds is counter-productive for Israel and could inflame matters in the area.
According to Ynet News daily Eisenkot was raising objections to the numerous measures being taken that he said would only push the Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas into a corner and potentially create an intransigent leader unwilling to cooperate with Israel on security matters.
Several factors Eisenkot argued were converging that risked imperiling overall security in the West Bank.
Eisenkot also lamented the failed reconciliation deal between the PA and Hamas and noted that the aging Palestinian leader beset by poor health could lose control of the area as unrest remains in Gaza and anger reaches boiling point in the West Bank the same source added.
According to Eisenkot these combined factors have created a concerning dynamic for the Israeli occupation army which could be forced to face a rising tide of violent riots.
Israel’s military chief claimed that in the event of a violent escalation the occupation army would be compelled to increase the number of troops on the ground.
Amid the concerns Eisenkot outlined a plan to mitigate the risks of an escalation of violence and to fill the void left behind by the US’s retreat from efforts to assist the PA.
Ynet News said other security officials have made clear that maintaining the PA’s stability was in Israel’s best interest.
The officials blamed Abbas for working to sabotage Israeli indirect negotiations with Hamas to put an end to the daily border violence in Gaza. According to the officials Abbas is deliberately seeking to ensure an intensification of the humanitarian crisis gripping the strip.
Abbas for example has refused to transfer salaries to 75000 PA workers in the strip and is refusing to fund a larger supply of electricity to civilians it said.
The officials have accused Abbas of choking the Gaza residents in order to foment further conflict between Hamas and Israel hoping that Israel will attack the coastal enclave and deal a fatal blow to the resistance movement which they said competes with Abbas for power.
In addition creating circumstances that will potentially provoke Israel into launching an offensive will enable him to continue his legal battle against Israel in international forums Ynet News reported.
