JERUSALEM — Israel, in a government brief, has stated that 10 percent of the Palestinian
security forces engage in attacks against the Jewish state.
In a brief filed to the High Court, the government asserted that 10
percent of the 63,000-member PA security forces have been involved in
attacks against Israeli soldiers and civilians. The government said 15
percent of the Palestinian officers were members of so-called terrorist
organizations.
The brief was filed in a challenge of a law that sharply limits the
residence of Palestinians in Israel, Middle East Newsline reported. The law, passed by the Knesset in 2005,
does not enable a Palestinian spouse married to an Israeli citizen to live
in the Jewish state.
The government argued in the case, heard on Tuesday, that the
Palestinian Authority was an enemy of Israel. The argument was adopted by
one of the justices, Michael Cheshin.
"The Palestinian people elected Hamas," Cheshin said. "It's true that
the Palestinian people is not a hostile people. But when the state of Israel
wants to defend itself from terror attacks -- is that not a sufficient
reason [for the law]? I don't understand. Do we really not aspire to life?"
This was the first time Israel has provided an estimate of the number of
PA security officers involved in the Palestinian war against Israel.
Military sources said more than 80 percent of the PA police and security
forces have been members of the ruling Fatah movement.
The brief contrasted with a government position in another case heard by
the High Court earlier this week. In the earlier case, the government
rejected a petition to the court that called for an Israeli funding cutoff
to the Palestinian Authority in wake of the Hamas victory in Palestinian
legislative elections in Jan. 25.
The government said Hamas was still not in power and thus the PA could
not be regarded as a terrorist entity. In its brief, the government said it
would consider future funding transfers to the PA.
