Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman held a special meeting with IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot and the top echelons of Israel’s defense establishment during which they received a full security assessment pertaining to the situation in the West Bank. Following the meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commended Israel’s security establishment for its work against terror activities emanating from the Palestinian territories while accusing the Palestinian Authority for giving tail-wind to violent activities against the Jewish state, which has prolonged the wave of violence against Israeli citizens. Netanyahu also referred to the anticipated administration change in Washington, which he said would be very positive toward Israel.
“We are aware of the fact that the Palestinian Authority, unfortunately, not only does not condemn terror, but in the last terror attack some in the Fatah praised it, and we also know we are standing before significant political changes, I think some are very positive toward Israel, unfortunately we have yet to stabilize the situation, but my impression today is that the effort by the IDF and other Security Establishments is significant, there are some significant breakthroughs in intelligence and technology and others which I think are leading to the right direction. I think we need to be wary and the struggle against terror is always ahead of us and always at the top of our priorities,” said Netanyahu.
Israel’s top defense official, Minister Avigdor Lieberman, echoed Prime Minister Netanyahu’s accusations, asserting that the Palestinian incitement is an organized effort by the Palestinian leadership, including by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whom have instructed Muslim clerics and others to encourage the hatred of Israel amongst the Palestinian population, a reality that has direct consequences on the streets. “The thing that raises the most concerns is incitement as a command coming from the top. Everything we have seen in the past few days is a direct order from Abu Mazen (Mahmud Abbas) to the Imams inside mosques to incite. And this incitement, unfortunately, has a direct effect in the field,” said Defense Minister Lieberman, who also stressed that Israel continues to be vigilant in the face of the various activities against its citizens, and will use all the tools in its disposal to assure the security of the Jewish state.