This article will present the
outline of a research paper on the topic of the development of the
Palestinian security apparatuses into terrorist organizations, over the
course of the existence of the Palestinian Authority, 1993-2004.
The Thesis
The PLO has never abandoned
the “step-by-step” theory, which ultimately leads to the liquidation of the
State of Israel.
Signing the Oslo Agreement
was a significant step in gaining a foothold in Israel and a significant
first step towards realization of the step-by-step theory.
The PA’s security philosophy
was constructed on the basis of this theory. The PLO has never abandoned
terrorism as a strategic instrument to achieve its national aspirations,
which are: Establishment of a Palestinian state upon the ruins of the State
of Israel, while liquidating the State of Israel. The Palestinian security
apparatuses were established as a central building block of this
Weltanschauung. The PA’s rational thinking was, Acquire as much as
possible from the Israelis by means of negotiation, and in the future, when
the talks reach an impasse, the “doomsday” weapon – terrorism – will be
deployed.
The Study’s Conclusion
The study answered the
question: Was the transformation of the Palestinian security apparatuses
into terrorism apparatuses an evolutionary process or was it premeditated in
order to achieve political objectives unattainable by means of a political
process?
The question was examined in
the context of the totality of the establishment of the Palestinian
Authority in 1993 and an analysis of its long term strategic objectives: The
establishment of a single Palestinian state between the Mediterranean and
the Jordan River upon the ruins of the State of Israel.
In order to reinforce this
thesis, three phases in the administration of the Palestinian security
apparatuses were examined.
Phase One – Establishment of the Palestinian
Security Apparatuses 1993-1994
This phase is the most
significant because it attests to long term planning and true intentions.
The Oslo Accords dictated precisely the size and composition of the
Palestinian Security apparatuses, their armaments and their training. This
was the initial stage in which there was a blatant violation in all of the
areas mentioned above, with no significant reaction by the Israeli
government, which could have brought an end to the continued process.
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Scope of the Forces:
The agreement called for seven different apparatuses; in
practice, 12 different apparatuses were established, most of
them intelligence or preventive security apparatuses, whose advantage is
that they do not wear uniforms, thus their number was concealed and their
participation in terrorist activity was simplified and made more difficult
to track.
-
Armament: The
agreement called for light arms, some armored vehicles, a limited
number of machine guns and a total ban on weapons production or the
establishment of a weapons industry. In practice, there was a
massive deviation from the agreements. The weapons were both
quantitatively and qualitatively beyond agreed levels. In addition, as far
as types of weapons were concerned, they acquired machine guns, mortars,
Low missiles and Sagger missiles. An entire weapons industry was
established, which included: Production of explosives, mortars, mortar
shells and Qasam missiles.
-
Training: The
agreement called for police training, and anti-terrorist training for
regular and undercover police forces. In practice in addition to
police training, military training, combat against military forces and
training of an army command in the neighboring Arab countries and Pakistan
were also carried out.
Phase Two – Support for the Activity of the
Islamic Terrorist Organizations and Clandestine Participation in that Activity
through 2000.
Of the three phases examined
in this study, this is the most difficult phase to substantiate. Proof of
this thesis requires an in-depth examination of intelligence reports on the
one hand, and as analysis of the open media on the other. Below is a
detailing of the primary points presented in the study, which aided the
reinforcement of the thesis:
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The declarations of the
senior members of the Palestinian Authority regarding the use of a dual
strategy: Negotiations and terrorism.
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The development of the “Tanzim”
as the military arm of Fatah, and its arming with the weapons of
the security forces.
-
The development of the
“cities of refuge” phenomenon, under the auspices and protection of the
Palestinian security apparatuses.
-
The “revolving door” policy
– the arrest and immediate release of terrorists by the security forces.
-
Attacking IDF soldiers
while carrying out joint patrols.
-
Staffing the Palestinian
security apparatuses with former and current terrorists.
-
Failure of the intelligence
apparatuses to foil terrorist attacks despite information provided them by
the GSS.
-
Desperate pursuit of
Israeli intelligence sources in the territories, despite the fact that the
information was intended to assist the Palestinian Authority in its
purported battle against the Islamic opposition organizations.
-
Initiating combat against
the IDF in the “Western Wall Tunnel” incidents in 1996 and in the “Naqba”
incidents in May 2000.
-
Phase Three – Open Terrorist Activity of the
Palestinian Security Apparatuses since September 2000
The research project relied
on four sources of information in this phase of the study:
The media: Written –
newspapers, Electronic – radio and television.
Captured documents,
which fell into the hands of Israeli security forces during combat beginning
with the “Defensive Shield” Operation.
Interrogation of
terrorists and fugitives who were apprehended.
Declarations by senior
Palestinian Authority officials regarding assistance provided by the
Palestinian security apparatuses to the Islamic terrorist organizations,
emphasizing Palestinian unity.
After examining the evidence
in the aforementioned three phases, we are able to provide a positive answer
to the question raised by the study.
The Palestinian security
apparatuses were originally constructed to be terrorist organization when
the time was ripe and in that sense they did not disappoint those who
established them, headed by the Chairman of the Palestinian Authority,
Yassir Arafat.
