The Coordinator for Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), Maj.-Gen. Kamil Abu-Rukun, is warning there may be a “shattering of security coordination and a wave of violence and terrorist attacks” by Palestinians.
Army Radio is reporting that Maj.-Gen. Abu-Rukun made the statement during a closed-door meeting with Alternate Prime Minister and Defense Minister Benny Gantz and IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi.
The COGAT commander reportedly said that several scenarios, most notably Israel’s intended annexation of territory in the West Bank, may result in the Palestinian Authority’s nullification of security coordination with Israel. He is also said to have cautioned that an escalation of violence could even lead to attacks on Israelis perpetrated by Palestinian police officers.
COGAT responded to TV7’s request for confirmation of the statements by saying “We do not address what comes up inside closed security discussions.”
Abu-Rukun’s apparent warnings come amid a surge of terrorist attacks in Israel and the West Bank, following a cessation of hostilities in recent months as the Palestinian Authority has been focused on combating the coronavirus pandemic.
The same bleak forecast also pertains to Gaza.
Relative calm in southern Israel bordering the Hamas-run territory was shattered last night when air raid sirens blared in Zimrat, Shuva, Kfar Aza and Sa’ad. The IDF quickly confirmed that the Code Red alert was a false alarm, as occasionally occurs.
Israeli towns and communities bordering the Gaza Strip have been pounded by incoming rockets from the Palestinian enclave for decades. Terrified residents have just 15 seconds of hearing the alerts to reach safe refuge in bomb shelters to be protected from the Islamists’ missile attacks.
The last attack was earlier this month on 5 May, when terrorist-launched rocket slammed into an uninhabited Israeli area and failed to inflict either injury or damage. The IDF responded by shelling three Hamas military positions in the northern Gaza Strip with tank fire.