General overview
Seized documents supported by information acquired throughout the course of the violent confrontation prove that Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian Authority fully recognize the threats posed to themselves by Hamas’ and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s civilian infrastructure and financial system (the da’wa) and are fully aware of the support that infrastructure provides to terrorism.
However, throughout the course of the violent confrontation, (excluding atypical bursts of activity), they have avoided taking sustained and focused action against the terrorist organizations’ infrastructure. The explanation for such indecisiveness lies in two fundamental reasons: the Palestinian Authority’s inability to provide a fitting alternative capable of addressing the needs of the population, and its desire not to engage in a frontal confrontation with Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad over the priority given to the continuation of the violent confrontation with Israel.
