Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs

In the wake of planned UK and European sanctions on Israel, we're joined by a prominent Israeli security and legal scholar and ex-military official.

Lieutenant Colonel Maurice Hirsch is with the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs.

Before that, he served as director of the military prosecution for Judea and Samaria.

In the studio with us today is Assaf Nisan, an editor for C14 English.

Yeah

... took him to Ramallah.

Well, so this was the report that we put out, the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs.

From what was meant to be a 12,000-strong civilian police force is now a 70,000-strong terror army.

Thank you very much, Piers.

Well, joining me on the panel is Alan Baker, he's an international law expert for the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, and the former Israeli ambassador to Canada.

The US Israeli journalist Emily Schrader, Owen Jones, author and host of the Owen Jones podcast, and a Palestinian American journalist, Omar Baddar.

Okay, well, let me start with you, Owen Jones.

Highlighting past regional proliferation concerns, turning to security in the disputed territories, a recent poll reveals that a majority of Israelis, 77%, fear a large-scale terrorist attack originating from the West Bank, similar to the October 7th attacks.

This apprehension is amplified by warnings from the Jerusalem Center for Foreign Affairs and Security, or JCFA.

The JCFA reported on July 15 that Palestinian Authority security forces have significantly built up military capabilities, reportedly exceeding limits set by the Oslo Accords.

Their study noted PA forces have grown to around 70,000 personnel, equipped with advanced weaponry, including rocket-propelled grenades and shoulder-launched missiles.

In response to these concerns, Defence Minister Israel Katz stated that if Israel identifies plans for an October 7-style attack from the West Bank, the IDF has been directed by him and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to prepare for all-out war, targeting senior PA officials and terrorist infrastructure.

However, European officials are urging the elections to proceed.

Yoni Ben Menashem, a senior researcher at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, noted that these elections could become a referendum on the PA's unpopular and widely regarded corrupt leadership, and that Hamas, through potential alliances with figures like Mohamed Dahlan, could seize significant political power.

Israeli authorities have justified their actions in removing UNRWA from a former compound in Jerusalem.

They stated the agency functioned as an active arm of the Hamas terrorist organisation, citing employee participation in the October 7 massacre and Hamas operations from UNRWA facilities.

And wearing the authority of a much older word.

So critics, including a 2022 analysis from the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, they called the result religious discrimination by definition.

One faith's prayer permitted while another is barred.

And at the same site under the same government, however, many layers of borrowed precedence separated it from Constantinople.