The Israel Defense Force is prepared for an anticipated increase in the level of violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip following a meeting of the Palestine National Council in Algiers this weekend, according to Gen. Dan Shomron, the IDF chief of staff.
The PNC, which is to convene Saturday, is expected to declare an independent Palestinian state in the administered territories. Shomron believes such a move would fan the intensity of the Palestinian uprising in the territories, which enters its 12th month Wednesday.
The PNC, sometimes known as the Palestinian parliament in exile, is considered by Israelis to be part and parcel of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
Speaking to Israeli military correspondents here, Shomron said the PLO is trying to extract political gains from the intifada, the Arabic name for the uprising. It seeks to breathe life into the uprising and to drive a wedge between Israel and the West, he said.
If an independent Palestinian state is declared, Palestinians in the administered territories would gain the feeling they had achieved something through the intifada, Shomron said. Therefore the IDF is prepared for larger and more frequent demonstrations and other forms of disorder in the territories.
Turning to another security matter, the chief of staff reported that since Aug. 1, 72 terrorists have been killed, 142 wounded and 21 captured north of the Israeli border with Lebanon. He said 55 of the dead and 133 of the wounded were hit in Israeli air force strikes on terrorist bases in Lebanon.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
