“Israel will be in deep trouble if Hamas wins the elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council or if it scores a significant achievement," said Diskin.
He told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that an electoral victory for Hamas will allow them to “penetrate [Palestinian Authority] goverment offices and strengthen their grip on the territory." In such an eventuality, Diskin said, the PA would make no effort at all to stop terrorists from attacking Israel from PA-controlled territory.
Under the 1993 Oslo Accords, the Palestinian Authority controls huge swaths of land in Judea and Samaria, much of it bordering Jerusalem and Israel’s heavily populated coastal plain. Moreover, since the disengagment last August, the entire Gaza district has been ruled by the PA.
Recent polls show that Hamas, a terrorist organization dedicated to Israel’s destruction, will receive at least 30% of the PA vote. Hamas terrorists have killed hundreds of Israelis since the signing of the Oslo Accords.
The Committee Chairman, MK Yuval Shteinitz (Likud), was deeply disturbed by Diskin’s prognosis. He said Israel would be facing a new, unpleasant political reality if a group calling for Israel’s destruction wins the PA election or becomes a significant force in the PA parliament.
He told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that an electoral victory for Hamas will allow them to “penetrate [Palestinian Authority] goverment offices and strengthen their grip on the territory." In such an eventuality, Diskin said, the PA would make no effort at all to stop terrorists from attacking Israel from PA-controlled territory.
Under the 1993 Oslo Accords, the Palestinian Authority controls huge swaths of land in Judea and Samaria, much of it bordering Jerusalem and Israel’s heavily populated coastal plain. Moreover, since the disengagment last August, the entire Gaza district has been ruled by the PA.
Recent polls show that Hamas, a terrorist organization dedicated to Israel’s destruction, will receive at least 30% of the PA vote. Hamas terrorists have killed hundreds of Israelis since the signing of the Oslo Accords.
The Committee Chairman, MK Yuval Shteinitz (Likud), was deeply disturbed by Diskin’s prognosis. He said Israel would be facing a new, unpleasant political reality if a group calling for Israel’s destruction wins the PA election or becomes a significant force in the PA parliament.