Israel has authorised the transfer of weapons to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Israel Army Radio reported on Friday.
Defence Minister Amir Peretz made the decision after a ”rise” in intelligence alerts that radical or rival Palestinians could assassinate the moderate president, the radio said.
The weapons were donated by Egypt and Jordan and are to be transferred to the 2 000-strong Force 17 presidential guard charged with protecting Abbas.
Presidential spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh on Thursday strongly denied that Abbas’s life was in danger.
But West Bank intelligence chief Tawfiq Tirawi said last week that there were threats against senior officials in the Palestinian Authority, including against the president.
He said there were indications that certain people plotting against Abbas and other senior officials had infiltrated the intelligence.
Israel has in the past repeatedly blocked the transfer of weapons to the Palestinian Authority out of concern they might be used in attacks against it.
The reported threats against Abbas come against the background of rising lawlessness and internal strife within and between rival factions in the Palestinian autonomous areas.
In a conference on Thursday aimed at ending the in-fighting, Abbas called the situation — exacerbated by an international political and economic boycott imposed on the Palestinian Authority since the Islamic militant Hamas movement won legislative elections in January and formed a government in March — ”unbearable”.
In an attempt to emerge from the international isolation, Abbas issued an ultimatum against Hamas and other factions, saying they must modify their hard-line platforms and move toward his more moderate policies within 10 days, or else he would launch a national referendum on a two-state solution. — Sapa-dpa