Without moratorium, PA ‘heads toward explosion'

Member of the Fatah Central Committee blames the US administration for its continued support of Israel.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
Al Aksa Mosque (photo credit: AP)
Al Aksa Mosque
(photo credit: AP)
The Palestinian territories are headed toward an “explosion” because of Israel’s refusal to extend a moratorium on settlement construction, a senior Fatah official warned on Saturday.
Tawfik Tirawi, a member of the Fatah Central Committee, blamed the US administration for its continued support of Israel.
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“We are now at a stage of Israeli intransigence,” Tirawi, a former director of the Palestinian Authority’s General Intelligence Service in the West Bank, said in an interview with Jordan’s Al- Ghad newspaper.
“There’s Israeli arrogance, and unfortunately the US is standing beside Israel. There was an American road map and the Palestinians fulfilled all their obligations, while the Israelis did not fulfill any,” he said.
Tirawi said that the Palestinians initially thought the US administration was moving in the right direction before it “backtracked on all its positions under Israeli and Zionist pressure.”
Tirawi expressed fear of an “explosion” in the Palestinian territories, not only because of the settlements, but also due to the “threat” to the Aksa Mosque in Jerusalem.
“I’ve been reading about warnings from an Israeli security official that parts of the Aksa Mosque may collapse,” he said. “I have warned in the past and say now that we can speculate what would happen if one stone of the Aksa Mosque falls. I fear we are headed toward an explosion. This could be the trigger that would set a fire in the whole region.”
Tirawi said he supported the idea of dismantling the PA once the peace process collapsed so that Israel would be held fully responsible for the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
“Israel is not bearing any responsibility for occupation,” he said. “Occupation should not be that cheap for Israel.”