MK Tzvi Sukkot (Religious Zionist Party) on Tuesday appealed to the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, MK Boaz Bismuth, requesting an urgent discussion on the continuation of security cooperation with the Palestinian Authority.
The request was submitted following a series of incidents that raise serious questions regarding the functioning of the Authority’s security apparatus.
Sukkot noted that in recent days, a terror cell was uncovered in Samaria, with all four of its members being active-duty Palestinian Authority police officers.
In addition, three more police officers were arrested on suspicion of involvement in terrorism. Sukkot further pointed out that the terrorist eliminated on Monday in Shechem (Nablus) - responsible for the murder of two IDF soldiers - had previously surrendered himself to the Palestinian Authority, which subsequently released him.
“These events raise grave concern about the reliability of the Authority’s security mechanisms and their ability to serve as a restraining force,” wrote Sukkot.
He warned that, alongside this, instability within the Palestinian Authority is intensifying around the issue of the “day after Mahmoud Abbas,” raising real fears of the collapse of its institutions and an escalation directed against Israel.
In conclusion, Sukkot demanded that the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee convene immediately: “We must reexamine the nature and depth of cooperation with the Authority, in light of recent facts.”