Top IDF official: US should not cut aid to Palestinians

In a rare interview with 'NY Times,' Brig.-Gen. Nitzan Alon says cutting aid to the PA will lead to instability, insecurity for Israel.

By YAAKOV KATZ
Brig.-Gen. Nitzan Alon 311 (photo credit: IDF spokesman)
Brig.-Gen. Nitzan Alon 311
(photo credit: IDF spokesman)
Cutting off American aid to the Palestinian Authority will lead to instability and insecurity for Israel and the Palestinian people, commander of the IDF’s Judea and Samaria Division Brig.-Gen. Nitzan Alon told The New York Times.
In a rare interview published on Wednesday, Alon, a former commander of the IDF’s elite General Staff Reconnaissance Unit known as Sayeret Matkal, warned that a congressional initiative to cut hundreds of millions of dollars in aid could affect Israeli security.
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“Stability in the region includes the ability of the Palestinian Authority to pay its salaries,”Alon said. “Reducing the Palestinians’ ability to pay decreases security. American aid is relevant to this issue.”
Alon’s warning reflects a consensus among Israel’s top defense brass which is opposed to the plans to cut aid to the PA. The IDF’s concern is that disgruntled Palestinian security personnel would stop cracking down on terrorist elements in the West Bank – as they have been doing – and could even turn their weapons against Israel.
It was not clear if Alon’s comments were coordinated with the General Staff and the government, which has been mum on the congressional initiative to cut off aid to the Palestinians.