Attack on Israeli soldiers by PA guard exposes split between Netanyahu and army over how to respond
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has described his security forces’ cooperation with the Israeli military as “sacred”. But an armed attack on an Israeli checkpoint last weekend by a Palestinian security official, which left three Israeli soldiers injured, suggests that Abbas’ view may not be widely shared among Palestinians.
Amjad Sukari, aged 34, a driver and bodyguard in Ramallah for the Palestinian attorney general, was shot dead on Sunday after he opened fire at Israeli soldiers stationed at a “VIP crossing” near Ramallah.
It was the second time in recent months that a PA security officer has opened fire on Israeli soldiers.
In December Mazen Ariba, a member of the Palestinian intelligence services, injured two Israelis, including a soldier, at Hizme checkpoint, close to Jerusalem.
Israel responded to Sukari’s attack by briefly locking down Ramallah, the Palestinians’ effective economic and political capital, in what appeared to be a policy of collective punishment.