Israel will transfer to the Palestinian Authority 25 armored vehicles from Russia for use in PA controlled areas of Judea and Samaria. Permission for the transfer was granted by the Olmert government during a high-level meeting Thursday night.
An additional 25 will be supplied if the first shipment is “properly used,” Israeli officials said.
Russia has been attempting to transfer the vehicles to the PA for several months, but until Thursday's meeting Israel had refused to permit the transfer. Israel's permission for such transfers is required by the Oslo agreements. PA sources said that Israel had opposed the transfer because of the PA and Russia's insistence that automatic weapons be installed on the vehicles. Israel agreed to permit the delivery after Russia agreed to ship the vehicles without the weapons.
MKs have criticized the proposal ever since it first cropped up last year. Many pointed out that all the armor and weapons supplied to Fatah in Gaza found their way to Hamas after the Islamist group decided to take over the rea.
“The prime minister will be personally responsible for each Jew that will be harmed [from the PA's use of the vehicles against Jews], and he will be put on trial for crimes against the Jewish people," MK Aryeh Eldad (NU-NRP) warned.
Legal Forum: Vehicle Transfer Repeat of Old Mistakes
In a statement issued Saturday night, the Land of Israel Legal Forum said that the transfer of 25 armored vehicles to the Palestinian Authority was a “repeat of old mistakes,” giving weapons to the PA that would eventually end up being used against Israelis.
“It stands to reason that the weapon used by the terrorist who killed the students in Mercaz Harav Yeshiva was transferred to the PA by Israel. Now the government is giving terrorists the ability to safely transport terrorists” in the armored vehicles to be transferred to the PA.