Israeli and Palestinian security forces are already taking precautions to avoid an outbreak of violence after an expected U.N. vote for Palestinian independence in September, officials on both sides said Sunday, reflecting shared concerns about the possibility of renewed fighting this fall.
For now, Israeli and Palestinian officials said they do not want — or expect — armed hostilities to resume. But both sides fear that one small incident could quickly spin out of control.
“We need only popular and peaceful struggle,” said Amin Makboul, a top official in Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah Party. “We want to show the world that we are responsible and deserve to be part of the international community.”
After the bitter lessons of last decade’s Palestinian uprising, the Palestinians do not want to give Israel any “pretext” to claim the Palestinians are not serious about creating a peaceful state, Makboul added.
A top Palestinian security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Abbas recently issued a straightforward order to his commanders: “I don’t want any violent actions in September,” the official quoted Abbas as saying. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was discussing a sensitive internal meeting.
Israeli and Palestinian officials both say the region is headed into uncharted waters if the Palestinians follow through on their pledge to turn to the United Nations.
Each side is trying to prepare for all scenarios. Mostly it is in closed forums whose deliberations are so tightly guarded as to suggest a fear that the mere mention of a new Palestinian uprising might somehow contribute to tensions. However, some preparations are more public.
Some 1,000 Israeli military officers held a two-day drill last week to prepare for September, discussing such issues as crowd-control tactics and the latest intelligence, officials say.
The army will use the coming months to fine-tune its preparations in hopes of avoiding bloodshed, they said.
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