Palestinian Authority (P.A.) national security adviser Jibril Rajoub said on Monday that security breaches in the P.A. are mostly carried out by Palestinian security personnel. “On this basis we’re making an effort to control these mechanisms and those who belong to them,” he said.
Rajoub was addressing Israeli and Palestinian journalists at Jerusalem’s American Colony Hotel during a session of the Mideast Press Club.
He called Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank “the turning point in the bilateral [Israel-Palestinian] relationship,” and called on Israel to “recognize the Palestinian Authority as its partner.”
Speaking from the Israeli perspective, former head of the Shin Bet domestic intelligence agency Ami Ayalon criticized the government for its handling of the Gaza pullout. Ayalon said the Jews who live in post-1967 areas are “pioneers of the Zionist camp” to whom the nation is saying, “your mission is over.”
Ayalon said it is not enough to tell those being evacuated from Gaza “how to uproot them and how much compensation to give them.” He said the evacuees have not been told why they are being removed from their homes.