Netanyahu: Iran's Increased Efforts to Expand Terrorist Activities in the West Bank

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, spoke about what he called "Iran's increased efforts to expand terrorist activities in the West Bank." According to the Jerusalem Post, Netanyahu made these remarks on Sunday, December 28, during a cabinet meeting in Jerusalem. In his comments, the Israeli Prime Minister claimed that the Palestinian Authority's ambassador in Iran, Salah al-Zawawi, was "excited" about Iran's actions. Netanyahu referenced al-Zawawi's statement that Israel is "violent and a cancerous tumor that must be eliminated sooner or later." Netanyahu told his ministers that these comments were made not by a representative of Hamas in Iran, but by a representative of the Palestinian Authority in Tehran. The Israeli Prime Minister also criticized the Palestinians' ongoing diplomatic campaign in the UN Security Council, stating that under such circumstances, the UN wants to reward them with the introduction of their desired resolution. According to Netanyahu, recent Palestinian attacks in the West Bank are the result of incitement to carry out terrorist operations. He asserted that even if a resolution for an independent Palestinian state were approved by the Security Council, Israel would not accept it. On the other hand, Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of the Palestinian Authority, stated on Sunday in Nablus that "the world supports the Palestinians" and that the plan to end Israeli occupation would be presented at the Security Council on Monday, December 29. The Palestinians, in the aforementioned draft resolution recently submitted to the Security Council by Jordan, are calling for an end to the occupation of Palestinian territories and the establishment of a Palestinian state by 2017.