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Chief of Staff confirms offer to limit IDF activity in Palestinian areas

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IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot is widely reported to have confirmed that an offer was made to the Palestinian Authority (PA) to limit IDF activity in Palestinian areas of the West Bank.

Talks were reported to have taken place between senior Israeli and Palestinian security and intelligence officials, during which Israel issued a proposal approved by Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon. The plan would see the IDF restricted to operations to prevent a “ticking bomb” in Area A of the West Bank, which according to the Oslo Accords is designated for exclusive Palestinian security control. The proposal would also see a significant reduction in IDF activity in Jericho and Ramallah, as a pilot programme, which could be extended if successful.

Eizenkot apparently confirmed the plan yesterday, in a session of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee. He said that although the talks were “only at their beginning,” the proposal is “meant to increase the defensive effectiveness in the area, while examining the possibility of decreasing IDF soldiers’ entry into Area A.” He added, “Our proposal was designed to allow the Palestinian security forces to carry out their responsibilities in those areas,” but at the same time “without harming our ability to thwart terrorism.”

The PA representatives are thought to have rejected the plan, demanding a full timetable for the cessation of IDF activities throughout Palestinian areas of the West Bank. Nonetheless, news of the plan angered some right-wing ministers, who were not informed of the talks and object to concessions at a time of intense violence. Likud’s Immigrant Absorption Minister Zeev Elkin said he “totally objects” to the proposal and Jewish Home leader, Education Minister Naftali Bennett said his party would fight it “with all our might.”

This morning, a Palestinian youth was stopped at the Shuafat crossing in the West Bank, armed with a knife intended to carry out a stabbing. Meanwhile, last night, Israeli security forces raided a makeshift factory producing crude firearms in a West Bank Palestinian village. Such weapons have been used increasingly in recent attacks on Israelis.