Search

Abbas threatens to openly support intifada against Israel

Embattled PA president says cancelling security coordination with Israel and giving terrorists free rein in PA-controlled areas is an option he’s considering.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas hinted in a recent interview that he could support a violent Palestinian uprising against Israel, as the embattled octogenarian leader continues to lose support from his constituents and terror groups rise in popularity among the Palestinian public.

Speaking to Saudi Arabian TV Channel Al-Arabiya, Abbas said that cutting off the PA’s security coordination with Israel, which sees the PA partner with Israel on terror arrests and clamp down on groups like Lion’s Den, was an option.

“I don’t support the Palestinian military resistance [at the moment], but that could change,” Abbas told the outlet. “It could be tomorrow, the day after tomorrow or any other time. Everything changes.”

“The [security] agreements with Israel exist, but we can cancel them at any moment,” Abbas added.

“Security coordination with Israel means fighting terrorism. We are against terrorism and violence. If Israel continues with its actions – we will cancel security coordination.”

Abbas’ comments may be an attempt to appeal to Palestinians disillusioned with his 17-year-long rule, which has seen him abruptly cancel national elections in which he was expected to lose.

Read  Jerusalem court orders Palestinian Authority to pay family of intifada victims $12.3 million

Polls have consistently found that Abbas is wildly unpopular among his constituents and that the majority of those living in PA-controlled areas in Judea and Samaria would prefer to be governed by Hamas. Most Palestinians believe that he should resign from his position.

In response to a deadly wave of terror emanating from PA-controlled areas in Judea and Samaria starting in March 2022, the IDF launched Operation Break the Wave. The anti-terror effort has seen Israeli security forces arrest terrorists in cities including Jenin, which were previously de facto off-limits to the IDF. Around 2,000 Palestinians have been arrested since the beginning of the counter-terror campaign.

Near nightly anti-terror raids in PA-controlled cities has strengthened the resentment brewing against Abbas, because his coordination with Israel is seen as a betrayal by some Palestinians.