Defense Minister Sha'ul Mofaz decided last night to allow Palestinian Authority para-military policemen in Judea and Samaria to bear arms. The decision was made in a special meeting last night with IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Moshe Yaalon, Shabak officials, and IDF generals.
The objective of the new policy is to enable the PA to deal with recent signs of sprouting anarchy. Israel will receive a list of policemen from the PA, and will investigate the terrorism background, if any, of each of them. The permits to carry rifles will be granted in stages, beginning in the areas deemed to be quieter.
Reactions from the nationalist and Land of Israel camps were fast and furious. "The decision is reckless [mufkeret, in Hebrew] and abandons us [mafkirah]," stated Yehoshua Mor-Yosef, spokesman for the Yesha Council (Council of Jewish Communities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza). "The only one who can say that giving weapons to terrorists won't cost Jewish lives is someone who can say that retreating under fire [from Gaza] will improve our security."
MK Aryeh Eldad (National Union) said, "Mofaz relies on armed PA policemen to instill order in the PA, and therefore gives them weapons with which they can kill Jews. [As IDF Chief of Staff in October 2000,] Mofaz abandoned the wounded soldier Madhat Yusuf in Joseph's Tomb because he relied on Jibril Rajoub, and he now continues to abandon the security of the residents of Yesha."
Defense Minister Mofaz responded today to the wave of criticism, saying said that the step is necessary, not dangerous, and reversible. He said that the permitted weapons will be pistols and clubs, and that they will not be allowed to carry them in areas that will endanger Israelis.
Earlier this morning, Minister Gideon Ezra made a lame attempt to explain the new decision: "This is an attempt to instill order amidst the anarchy. They promise that they won't point the weapons at our forces... There is no problem for us to approve this policy when it helps them and doesn't hurt us. I understand that the defense establishment has checked into the matter very well... These policemen will be working for law and order, and it could be that if we come [looking for] a stolen car, they will return it to us." Ezra said that Israel's eight-year demand that the PA turns in its illegal weapons still stands.
The objective of the new policy is to enable the PA to deal with recent signs of sprouting anarchy. Israel will receive a list of policemen from the PA, and will investigate the terrorism background, if any, of each of them. The permits to carry rifles will be granted in stages, beginning in the areas deemed to be quieter.
Reactions from the nationalist and Land of Israel camps were fast and furious. "The decision is reckless [mufkeret, in Hebrew] and abandons us [mafkirah]," stated Yehoshua Mor-Yosef, spokesman for the Yesha Council (Council of Jewish Communities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza). "The only one who can say that giving weapons to terrorists won't cost Jewish lives is someone who can say that retreating under fire [from Gaza] will improve our security."
MK Aryeh Eldad (National Union) said, "Mofaz relies on armed PA policemen to instill order in the PA, and therefore gives them weapons with which they can kill Jews. [As IDF Chief of Staff in October 2000,] Mofaz abandoned the wounded soldier Madhat Yusuf in Joseph's Tomb because he relied on Jibril Rajoub, and he now continues to abandon the security of the residents of Yesha."
Defense Minister Mofaz responded today to the wave of criticism, saying said that the step is necessary, not dangerous, and reversible. He said that the permitted weapons will be pistols and clubs, and that they will not be allowed to carry them in areas that will endanger Israelis.
Earlier this morning, Minister Gideon Ezra made a lame attempt to explain the new decision: "This is an attempt to instill order amidst the anarchy. They promise that they won't point the weapons at our forces... There is no problem for us to approve this policy when it helps them and doesn't hurt us. I understand that the defense establishment has checked into the matter very well... These policemen will be working for law and order, and it could be that if we come [looking for] a stolen car, they will return it to us." Ezra said that Israel's eight-year demand that the PA turns in its illegal weapons still stands.