In his letter sent to Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Deputy Minister of Education R’ Meir Porush writes that we may not rely on PA (Palestinian Authority) security forces to protect our holy sites, citing the recent attack and desecration of Kever Yosef, located in PA-occupied Shechem.

The incident at the kever Porush states serves as testimony once again, that Israel may not rely on PA security forces. He adds the PA is “weak and unreliable, as well as untrustworthy and the PA does not contribute in any way to prevent such attacks throughout Yehuda and Shomron”, adding that additional proof may be seen in the fact the PA leader is conducting negotiations with Hamas.

Porush makes a connection between the most recent attack at Kever Yosef and the Jordan Valley attack on Route 90 in which two policemen were murdered. He points out the terrorists have yet to be apprehended but it is known they fled to the northern Shomron, Shechem area, the same area of Kever Yosef. He points out that the graffiti at the Kever included swastikas, stating he believes this points to terrorists, not just innocent residents of the area who decided to target the Kever.

“We must remember there are generally intelligence warnings of planned attacks throughout Yehuda, Shomron and the Jordan Valley. Secret cells of Fatah defectors are working with Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists. The fact that there have been few attacks is due to the efforts of the IDF, not PA forces”.

“You as defense minister are well aware of the efforts of the IDF, the nightly activities to apprehend suspects and prevent attacks. This is the reason for the drop in the number of attacks, almost down to zero, due to the IDF and the Shomer Yisrael. From here we must draw the conclusion to avoid such vandalism and destruction of Kever Yosef in the future and to avoid fatal attacks such as the Jordan Valley, as well as attacks against the dear settlers as was seen recently in Yitzhar, in which five people were injured – we must increase the activities of our forces, included stepped-up inspections at checkpoints. In short, we must operate with a harder-hand throughout Yehuda and Shomron to prevent future attacks.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)