Jewish Settlers Threaten Plo Policemen

Angry over Israeli plans to withdraw troops from the West Bank, Jewish settler leaders threatened Tuesday to shoot the Palestinian policemen who replace them - and maybe even the Israelis who try to enforce the new order.

If a settler is stopped by Palestinian policemen, leader Pinchas Wallerstein told Israel radio, “he doesn’t need to wait for them to fire on him. He needs to fire immediately - and not in the air.”

Nissan Smoliansky, council head of the Elkana settlement, predicted clashes would start soon after the Palestine Liberation Organziation deploys policemen in the West Bank.

“In a short time, there will be weapons used between Jews and Arabs, from the moment an armed Palestinian policeman … tells us what to do,” he told Israel’s Channel 2 TV.

Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said the government would not tolerate an insurgency. “Anyone who says they are above the law has no place in a country that has rule of law,” he said.