Bracing for possible violence, Palestinian forces hide sensitive documents: report
Last time such preparations were made was ahead of the Second Intifada, report notes
Palestinian intelligence offices in at least two West Bank cities have been ordered to hide sensitive documents in preparation for possible violence, Israel's Channel 12 reported Tuesday.
According to the report, a large number of physical files has been transferred to unspecified locations as Ramallah anticipates an uptick in tensions if Israel goes ahead with applying its sovereignty to West Bank areas.
Previously, such preparations were only made in the run-up to the Second Intifada, a violent uprising that lasted from 2000 until 2005 and which saw scores of terrorist attacks on Israeli citizens and IDF forces, claiming hundreds of lives.
The report comes as July 1, the date set for a vote on the annexation of West Bank areas as outlined in US President Donald Trump's Middle East peace plan, nears.
Under the coalition agreement at the foundation of Israel's current government, an annexation vote can go ahead on July 1 as long as Washington gives Jerusalem its blessing.
However, conflicting reports have been emerging on whether the go-ahead will actually be granted, with the US now reportedly urging the Israeli authorities to push the brakes on the move.
Israel's neighboring Jordan has also been increasingly vocal in its opposition to annexation, warning that the move could jeopardize the long-standing peace treaty between the two countries.