BICOM

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz at Ben-Gurion International Airport 45 minutes before leaving for the United States today. Netanyahu conferred with Gantz about the IDF’s preparedness for the possibility of violent demonstrations in the West Bank during the Palestinian bid for statehood at the UN.

Gantz informed Netanyahu that there are currently no indications of impending violent riots in the West Bank. The chief of staff said, however, that the IDF was prepared for any eventuality.

In recent weeks, leading up to the Palestinian bid at the UN, similar assessments have emerged from IDF intelligence and the Israel Security Service. There is, however, concern in the Israeli defence establishment that mass non-violent Palestinian demonstrations in support of the UN bid could quickly get out of control. In case of this eventuality, the IDF has made extensive preparations to avoid violent confrontations with Palestinians, including the authorising of the sale of crowd dispersal equipment to PA security forces and the purchasing and training of IDF forces with non-lethal weapons.

Defence Minister Ehud Barak is expected to return from the US tomorrow. Upon his return he will take charge of efforts by Israel’s security forces to contain violence, if it erupts.