[ 08/09/2011 - 08:42 AM ]
WEST BANK, (PIC)-- A “classified” diplomatic cable leaked by Wikileaks revealed that Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad deployed 500 security officers to quell protests in Ramallah during Israel’s 2008-9 aggression on the Gaza Strip.
Fayyad sent the cable to the Jack Walles of the United States Consulate in Jerusalem dated 9 January 2009.
The Israeli army led a 22-day sea, air and land attack on the Gaza Strip that began on 27 December 2008, killing more than 1,420 Palestinians, injuring over 5,000, and destroying much of the Strip’s infrastructure.
In the cable, Fayyad said he was “heavy-handed” as demonstrations presented a crowd-control problem in Ramallah. He also noted that Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine were “causing problems”, especially in Bethlehem.
“[Fayyad] said PASF (PA Security Forces) have the same orders as before: to hold the line, prevent violence, and prevent confrontations with IDF soldiers--with the added instruction to avoid casualties if possible,” Walles said in the leaked document.
The cable also says that Fayyad stated that the UN Security Council Resolution on Gaza could provide an opportunity for the PA to take stronger action against Hamas in the West Bank, saying that Hamas had been opposing a measure adopted by the Security Council and supported by Arab states.
Wikileaks cables also revealed that Israel consulted Egypt and the PA before launching the Gaza war in 2008 on taking control of Gaza if Hamas was defeated, but both parties declined the request. However they did not cut off dialogue with Tel Aviv.
Here is the full text of the above cable as documented by Wikileaks.
River to Sea
Uprooted Palestinian
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