Smuggling weapons into the West Bank is a rising challenge for Israel.

What secret did Arafat share with me about this problem during our previous meeting?

My last meeting with the late President Yasser Arafat was in the VIP lounge at Heathrow Airport in West London, where he would periodically stop on his way to Washington to refuel his small, outdated plane. He was obviously nervous. He anticipated pressure from President Bill Clinton to accept the “Palestinian” Camp David Accords. President Clinton requested that Arafat meet with him in the White House in the final days of his presidency, hoping to modify Arafat’s “hardline” posture. However, Arafat refused to budge and never changed his position.

President Arafat, who confirmed to me with a gesture and a whisper that he would not back down, did not trust the Americans or the Israelis and ordered one of his guards to bring him a piece of paper because he was afraid of being recorded. We left the room; he wrote, “There is no alternative but to return to resistance and ignite the armed intifada in the West Bank, the major weak point in the Israeli flank.” Here was my question: “Where will you obtain the weapons, since there are neither Arabs nor Soviets?” And how will you get it to the beleaguered West Bank? He wrote with his green pen: “There is nothing easier than smuggling, whether through professional drug or weapon smugglers, of which there are many, or through Israeli soldiers themselves.” There are no more corrupt people than the Israelis, who adore and worship money. He went on to say, “I’ve smuggled and acquired weaponry from Israeli army generals, as well as smuggled militants in and out. Money can purchase many consciences. After he finished writing, he folded the paper and placed it in the pocket of his military jacket, which he always wore.

I recall this experience while following two major problems that have dominated current events in occupied Palestine:

The first: Iranian intelligence was successful in infiltrating and hiring several Israeli agents to collect important information from Israeli army sites, as well as secrets about its actions and leadership, both political and military. The most recent incident was the hacking of former Prime Minister Bennett’s computer, which resulted in the acquisition of vital papers and secrets, as well as recordings of calls on his personal phone, thanks to Israeli spies hired by Tehran.

Second, General David Zini, head of Israel’s General Security Service (Shabak), confirmed the development of the practice of smuggling weapons into the occupied West Bank using drones, whether through Jordanian, Egyptian, or Syrian borders. According to the publication “Haaretz”, he stated unequivocally that smuggling is a constant disaster and a severe strategic threat to Israel.

According to the publication, this smuggling is currently the subject of heated debate among Israeli security organisations and involves high-level military, police, and intelligence officials. This is because some of these drones can carry dozens, if not hundreds, of kilograms. According to the newspaper, one of the seized vehicles was carrying approximately 40 weapons. It is worth noting that the military cell, which was arrested and tried by Jordanian intelligence in April of last year on charges of manufacturing rockets and drones and belonging to an Islamic movement, admitted to producing these rockets and drones not for use in Jordan, but for smuggling them to the resistance in the West Bank.

Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly boasted that Israel is battling on seven fronts, yet he has not claimed victory on any. These fronts, particularly in Gaza, Lebanon, and Yemen, remain open, with the West Bank front, which is becoming more inflamed by the day, being the most hazardous. There are numerous indications that the smuggling of locally and secretly manufactured drones from neighbouring countries has not only increased, but the resistance has also succeeded in relocating weapon manufacturing workshops to various secret locations within these areas, both underground and above ground.

Donald Trump, known for his ignorance and stupidity in most fields, especially geography, politics, and history, with his knowledge limited to real estate brokering, said a powerful and important phrase during one of his “confrontations” with Netanyahu at the height of the genocide in the Gaza Strip: “Who are you to fight on seven fronts simultaneously?”

Transferring the upcoming war to the West Bank, which is nearly 10 times larger than the Gaza Strip, would be a critical strategic move in the Arab-Israeli confrontation. Perhaps the current Israeli criminal provocations, such as escalating settlement operations, the Knesset’s vote to annex it, settlers’ rampant assaults and killings of its residents, uprooting its olive trees, and erecting iron gates to control and humiliate its people, will inevitably lead to confrontations that dwarf those in the Gaza Strip in the near future.

Netanyahu is prepared to launch a massive offensive against Lebanon under the guise of removing “Hezbollah”, which has regained much of its power and armament, as well as another against Iran, whose highly advanced missile systems now concern him more than its nuclear ambitions. Trump is likely to give his approval during his visit to America next week.

Arafat kept his promise and returned from the failed Camp David trap to spark the armed uprising in the West Bank, which lasted nearly four years and caused massive military and moral losses for the occupying state. With this action, he rescued himself, his legacy, and his revolutionary resistance history, as reiterated by his buddy Farih Abu Madin, the former Palestinian Minister of Justice. Tony Blair’s significant deception, making false promises to establish a Palestinian state within two years as outlined in the roadmap, changed the outcome.

The recent onslaught against Lebanon failed to eradicate the Lebanese resistance (Hezbollah), so they intend to try again. The second attack (the 12-day war) on Iran destroyed a small part of its nuclear programme (less than 3%) and failed to change the regime. As a result, the third “restorative” option may change, and the missiles that are anticipated to rain down on Greater Tel Aviv this time, potentially hitting civilians, may be more numerous and lethal. We should remind Netanyahu that Iran is 75 times larger than Israel, a vast continent that will not vanish, but “Israel” may not be.

Smuggling weapons into the West Bank is a rising challenge for Israel.