BICOM

The new Palestinian Authority Prime Minister said yesterday that he intends to review all political, security and economic relations with Israel.

Speaking in Ramallah with the Norwegian envoy to the peace process, Mohammad Shtayyeh, said that the Palestinians would not agree to the continuation of the existing political situation. Shtayyeh called for an international coalition to push back against the anticipated Trump plan for Israeli-Palestinian talks. He reportedly told the Norwegian envoy that there is no alternative to the two-state solution, the establishment of a Palestinian state within the pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Kan news reports today that the PA sent back £141million that Israel transferred about a month ago due to concern about the severe economic distress in the West Bank. The funds constitute the monthly payment of the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) tax money, minus the amount it pays to the families of those convicted of terrorist offences and security prisoners. Yesterday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s and his finance minister Moshe Kahlon met to discuss the returned funds. For more than two months, the PA has been refusing to receive funds from Israel after the latter’s decision to deduct the salaries to Palestinian prisoners and their families.

Israel’s Shin Bet Security Service announced yesterday that it prevented a potential large scale terrorist attack planned to coincide with the 9 April election. The Shin Bet said it discovered a terrorist cell that had been recruited by senior Hamas operatives from the Gaza Strip in order to carry out a suicide car bombing. Yehiye Abu Dia, a 23-year-old resident of A-Zaim in the West Bank, was arrested on 31 March 2019 after he had been in contact with senior Hamas operatives and agreed to become a suicide bomber.

The Shin Bet said: “As part of preparations for the attack, Abu Dia was instructed by the Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip to film himself reading his will, with a Hamas military wing ribbon tied around his head, prior to setting out and purchased a tripod for this purpose. The Hamas terrorist infrastructure in the Gaza Strip is constantly working to recruit Hamas operatives from the West Bank to carry out murderous terror attacks in order to undermine the security and stability of the area.”