"The money is coming from PA coffers and to Fatah officials," a security
source said. "PA officials, including senior members, are now attending
almost all of the confrontations against Israel."
The sources said the PA has sought to mobilize support for another
Palestinian uprising against Israel. They cited PA plans to honor a woman
that helped kill 38 Israelis in a bus hijacking in the Jewish state in 1978.
On March 11, the PA had scheduled to name a square in Ramallah after
Dalal Mughrabi, but hours earlier the ceremony was canceled amid Israeli and
U.S. pressure. The ceremony was to have taken place during the visit
by U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden.
"When Biden leaves, they'll try again," the security source said.
The sources said the PA efforts were meant to garner support for Fatah
ahead of West Bank municipal elections scheduled for July 17. They cited the
weekly protests against the Israeli security wall outside the Palestinian
villages of Bilin and Nilin, which were said to have received PA financing
and attracted scores of Western supporters.
The PA began sending senior officials to participate in Palestinian
unrest in January 2010, the sources said. They said the effort was approved
by PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayad, with the latter
relaying funds to sustain and expand the violent protests.
"With PA participation and funding, there is much greater motivation to
increase the violence," the source said. "And, we have seen this in the
field."
Under the PA sponsorship, the sources said, the weekly demonstrations at
Bilin and Nilin have grown ten-fold to about 2,000 people. The sources said
this has vastly increased the prospect of violence and a lethal response by
the Israeli force of police and soldiers.
"The Palestinians feel they have the license to harm Israeli soldiers
and police, and with so many people out there, the concern is that this
could turn into a tragedy," another source said.
The Israeli military and police have sought to defuse the PA-supported
unrest.
Dozens of suspected protest organizers have been arrested in Bilin and
Nilin, including Mohammed Khatib, regarded as aligned with the PA.
Fayad has also announced a campaign to stop Palestinians from working in
Jewish communities in the West Bank. The anti-Jewish drive has included the
inspection of Palestinian stores for products believed made in Jewish
communities in the area. The inspections have taken place during raids by PA
security forces of Palestinian villages in the area of Tulkarm.
At the same time, the Israeli military has reported a significant drop
in cooperation with the PA. The sources said PA officials, stung by
Palestinian criticism that they have become collaborators, were refusing to accept
VIP passes that enable them to enter Israel.
