Former Shin Bet chief: Abbas is against terror, but not because he loves Israel

• Published 13:28 26.10.11
• Latest update 13:28 26.10.11

Yuval Diskin says Israel is losing international support by not conducting peace negotiations with the Palestinians.

By Gidi Weitz and Yanir Yagna

Former Shin Bet security service director Yuval Diskin defended Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday, saying that Abbas is against terrorism.

"[Abbas] is against terrorism, although not because he loves us," Diskin told a student conference in southern Israel.

On Monday, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman severely criticized the Palestinian president, telling reporters that Abbas was the "greatest obstacle" to regional order and it would be a "blessing" if Abbas were to resign.

"Since 2007, [the Palestinian Authority] in the West Bank has made great efforts to fight terrorism," Diskin said on Wednesday. " As someone who was involved for many years in what was happening there, from 1993, I don't remember a time during which the Palestinians have fought terrorism as seriously as they are today."

Diskin said that Abbas is "not inherently a leader, but rather a statesman."

	Yuval Diskin, Oct. 26, 2011.
	Photo by: Ilan Assayeg

Diskin also said that Israel is losing international support by not conducting peace negotiations with the Palestinians.

Regarding the recent Israel-Hamas prisoner exchange deal that included the release of Gilad Shalit, Diskin said that "it would be better for Israel not to conduct these deals. These deals are not good for Israel"

Diskin said that Hamas "received oxygen" from the Shalit deal but that Hamas was concerned about its international isolation and the unrest in Syria.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/former-shin-bet-chief-abbas-is-against-terror-but-not-because-he-loves-israel-1.392126

Shin Bet: Threat of settler violence against Israeli officials rising in West Bank

• Published 00:50 03.10.11
• Latest update 00:50 03.10.11

Officials say right-wing extremists no longer need 'trigger' to take action, while targets of violence widening; extremists also trying to intimidate senior law enforcement officials.

By Amos Harel

The delegitimization campaign that extreme right-wing activists are conducting against civil servants could end in serious violence, according to warnings passed on to the political echelon by the Shin Bet security service.

Shin Bet officials have identified a radicalization in the phenomena that first emerged ahead of the disengagement from Gaza in 2004, and see a connection between them and the increased attacks on mosques and Palestinian property - actions that their perpetrators are defining as "a price tag."

	A settler 'price tag' attack on a Peace Now activist's home in Jerusalem.
	Photo by: Tomer Appelbaum

Shin Bet sources say members of the extreme right are making an effort to deter defense officials whose duties include coming into contact with such elements. The extremists are also trying to intimidate senior law enforcement officials, the Shin Bet sources add.

The two most prominent incidents in the past year have been the smear campaign conducted against Deputy Attorney General Shai Nitzan and the demonstrations held against the Israel Defense Forces' Judea and Samaria Division commander, Brig. Gen. Nitzan Alon.

The phenomena, however, stretch far further than these two matters, the Shin Bet says. Among other incidents, for example, the full names of officials from the Shin Bet's Jewish Division have been published on Internet websites, and their wives and children have been harassed at work and school. Civil Administration officials involved in keeping tabs on building violations have also been harassed.

According to the Shin Bet, the right-wing extremists no longer appear to need a "trigger" to take action, while the targets of the violence are also widening - military vehicles at an IDF base near Ramallah have been vandalized, and threatening graffiti has been sprayed onto the apartment door of a left-wing activist. Attacks on Arabs and their property are carried out when the opportunity arises, the Shin Bet officials add.

Defense establishment sources believe that some of the "price tag" attacks are being carried out by well-known right-wingers. Some two months ago, 12 right-wing extremists were ordered to stay out of the West Bank on the grounds that some of them had been involved in the torching of mosques. Restraining orders were issued because authorities have yet to collect enough evidence to press charges. None of the activists have sought to overturn the orders through the High Court of Justice.

Shin Bet officials believe that the acts of violence are being carried out by a few dozen individuals who are being supported by a circle of a few hundred right-wing activists. The vast majority of the settlers reject such actions, Shin Bet officials say.

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/shin-bet-threat-of-settler-violence-against-israeli-officials-rising-in-west-bank-1.387765