Israel Matzav

Good grief: Israeli General calls on Congress not to cut aid to 'Palestinian Authority'

Brig. Gen. Nitzan Alon, who is the commander of the Judea and Samaria brigade, has told the New York Times that Congress should not cut aid to the 'Palestinian Authority.'

“Stability in the region includes the ability of the Palestinian Authority to pay its salaries,” General Alon said this week in a rare on-the-record interview, reflecting a consensus among Israeli defense officials. “Reducing the Palestinians’ ability to pay decreases security. American aid is relevant to this issue.”

The position of both the White House and a number of American legislators is that the only path to Palestinian statehood is through direct talks with Israel. The Obama administration has promised to veto the recent Palestinian bid for recognition by the United Nations Security Council, but some legislators — Republicans and Democrats — want to go beyond that and cut off the hundreds of millions of dollars that Congress allocates annually to the Palestinian Authority.

General Alon, a former commando and intelligence officer who is scheduled to end his command after two years in his post, agreed to discuss issues that have arisen during his tenure. In a wide-ranging conversation, he brought up American aid and spoke with great concern about increasing violence by radical Israeli settlers, which he called “Jewish terrorism.” “We should do much more to stop it,” he said.

He called for more police officers and for getting them to shift some focus from their main mission of protecting settlers to stopping radicals. The army has sent some troops in for this.

General Alon said violence was a problem in both directions. He said Palestinian rock-throwing had increased since the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, went to the United Nations last month, leading to the deaths of a settler and his infant son whose car turned over after they were pelted. In recent months, the militant settlers have burned several mosques and destroyed acres of Palestinian olive and fig trees. Last week, dozens of settlers surrounded an Israeli Army vehicle and assaulted soldiers.

Alon ignores the fact that 60% of the aid that goes to the 'Palestinian Authority' gets turned over to Hamas to pay 'salaries' to its terrorists in Gaza and in Israeli jails. Oh wait - will that amount be reduced now that so many of the terrorists are being let go?

Alon also pretends that 'Palestinian' cooperation is permanent. It's not. It's far more likely that the IDF presence in Judea and Samaria is permanent, because without it, we would surely be in the same position we were in from 2000-2004. The 'Palestinians' cannot be trusted.

Labels: Nitzan Alon, Palestinian Authority, security cooperation, US foreign aid

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 2:26 PM