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SvennoJ on 29 August 2024
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Israel accuses Iran of smuggling weapons to West Bank, ‘threatening existence’ of PA

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz has justified the largest Israeli incursions into the occupied West Bank in two decades by accusing Iran of smuggling weapons into the territory.

Katz claimed in a post on X that Tehran is smuggling arms through Syria to Jordan and then to the West Bank, particularly to Palestinian refugee camps.

“The Palestinian Authority is unable to confront this threat, which also endangers its existence,” the diplomat said in the latest Israeli threat to dismantle the body.

“Offensively, Israel must act decisively against the terror infrastructure being built on the ground, as we have already begun. Defensively, a security fence along the Israel-Jordan border must be constructed quickly to prevent an influx of advanced Iranian weapons.”

He also called for Western countries to “strengthen” Jordan so the kingdom can defend its borders.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) was established by the Oslo Accords in the 1990s. It was designed to pave the way to a Palestinian state. But Israel has refused to agree to a two-state solution and has increased the construction of illegal Israeli settlements throughout the West Bank, simultaneously making the possibility of a Palestinian state less realistic and weakening the PA.

The PA is unpopular among Palestinians, partly because of the security coordination it performs with Israel, which results in it arresting Palestinians.



Jordanian minister accuses Israel of spreading ‘disinformation’

Jordan’s foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, says Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories is the “biggest threat” to the security of the region while accusing unnamed Israeli officials of spreading “disinformation” about his country and regional security.

“Radicals who celebrate the killing of children, use starvation as [a] weapon, bomb hospitals and schools, attack UN humanitarian missions, violate the sanctity of Muslim and Christian Holy sites in occupied Jerusalem and deny the right of the Palestinian people to life have no credibility,” he posted on X.

“Numerous Security Council resolutions, ICJ [International Court of Justice] rulings and testimonies by international organization[s] are more credible than the claims of an Israeli official who promotes collective punishment against the Palestinian people.”

Earlier, Katz, Safadi’s Israeli counterpart, called for a security fence to be dug along the Israel-Jordan border to stop what he said was the smuggling of Iranian weapons and also said Western countries need to “strengthen” Jordan so it can defend its borders.