By Jerusalem Newswire Editorial Staff
Feb 18, 2005
If Israel fails to completely leave the Gaza Strip, including the “Philadelphia Route” along the border with Egypt, Palestinian Arab violence against Israeli Jews will be renewed, a senior PA official told Israel Radio Friday.
In an interview with the radio station, former PA security boss Mohammed Dahlan said Israel’s continued presence on the Gaza-Egypt border would create a dynamic similar to that in the Sheba Farms region of the Golan Heights, where IDF soldiers are regularly attacked by Hizballah terrorists.
Hizballah claims the area is part of Lebanon, making Israel’s withdrawal from its northern neighbor incomplete in the terrorists’ eyes.
If, on the other hand, Israel complies fully with “Palestinian” demands regarding withdrawal from Gaza, the PA’s security forces will then fulfill their peace obligations and prevent anti-Jewish violence and halt arms smuggling along the border, said Dahlan.
A close confidante of PLO chief Mahmoud Abbas, Dahlan stressed, however, that PA efforts to stem the tide of illegal arms from Sinai would be implemented for the sake of “Palestinian” interests, and not in order to safeguard Israel’s Jews.
Responding quickly to the PA ultimatum, Vice Premier Shimon Peres told Israel Radio compliance with the demand was likely.
Dr. Aaron Lerner of Independent Media Review and Analysis pointed out that while “attention is focusing on the narrow issue of the Philadelphia Route,” the same threat of violence in return for non-compliance applies to all “Palestinian” demands.