Security source: IDF-PA security coordination continues, but getting harder

Eight Israelis who accidentally entered Area A of the West Bank in recent days have been returned to Israel by PA security forces – a sign that coordination is continuing.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN
FIREWORKS FALL near policemen during clashes in the capital’s Isawiya neighborhood (photo credit: REUTERS)
FIREWORKS FALL near policemen during clashes in the capital’s Isawiya neighborhood
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Security coordination between the IDF and the Palestinian Authority’s security forces is continuing despite the recent wave of violence, but coordination is becoming increasingly difficult to conduct in some areas, such as Rachel’s Tomb on the outskirts of Bethlehem, a senior security source said on Saturday evening.
Eight Israelis who accidentally entered Area A of the West Bank in recent days have been returned to Israel by PA security forces – a sign that coordination is continuing.
However, the source warned that “we don’t know how this will develop. In some places it is harder to do security coordination.
“The security situation is escalating, and the dynamic on the ground is negative,” the source said. Yet the number of terrorism fatalities this year – eight – is lower than the number in 2014, which saw 14 Israelis murdered between January and November, he added.
“We are seeing more willingness by rioters to confront our forces, but not a steep rise [in incidents] compared to last year’s holiday period,” the source said. He added that the Duma arson attack on two Palestinian homes by suspected far-right activists, which resulted in the murder of a toddler and his parents, remains “in the background” of the current wave of violence.
“We see the Temple Mount as a friction point, and there is lots of friction around Rachel’s Tomb, where rioters throw rocks and firebombs, placing our forces under tangible risk,” he said.
The IDF’s focus now is on defending roads in Judea and Samaria, and the four additional battalions sent to the West Bank in recent days to beef up forces “are doing this,” the source said.
“The way to lower the flames is to not involve the [Palestinian] population. If we have to, we get to the wanted security suspect in his bed, but we do not insert the general population into this circle."
“They need to stay outside of it,” the source said. “We set up lots of defenses around roads and communities [in Judea and Samaria]. There are enough forces on the ground, in accordance to the intelligence [assessments],” he said.
He also warned of a “significant increase” in settlers confronting and attacking Palestinians, which has resulted in injuries.
“Our forces are also there to stop this. I understand the pain, but they [the Israeli attackers] have to understand that they can’t disrupt the activities of security forces. There have been a number of Palestinians hurt by rocks thrown, people have been taken out of their cars and beaten.”