PA coyly denies receiving equipment through Israel after reported transfer through Jordan

Talal Dweikat, spokesperson for the Palestinian Authority security services, denies that the PA received any devices or equipment through Israeli authorities, according to the Palestinian government agency Wafa on Wednesday.

While Dweikat denies that equipment was received through Israel, he does not address the claim that a US shipment of weapons and armored vehicles was delivered through Jordan, with Israel’s okay.

Citing informed Palestinian sources, the Jerusalem-based Palestinian daily Al Quds said Monday that Israel approved a US shipment of weapons and armored vehicles through Jordan, to be used by several branches of the PA security forces in regaining control over West Bank areas that have become hotbeds of terror activity.

Dweikat claims the news was spread in the context of a campaign of incitement against the PA and its security services, as well as a campaign against PA President Mahmoud Abbas ahead of his speech at the UN General Assembly next week.

The spokesman says the PA has the right to obtain all the equipment it needs to preserve Palestinian citizens’ security and protect their rights and civil order, denying any need to work with Israel, which he says would “compromise its political positions.”