green light for jenin

In May and July 2001, the authoritative Jane's Foreign Report disclosed that Britain and France had given Israel 'the green light' to attack the West Bank. The Blair government was shown a top-secret plan for an all-out invasion and reoccupation of both the West Bank and Gaza, which were then administered by Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority under Israel sufferance. The plan was to use 'the latest F-16 and F-15 jets against all the main installations of the Palestinian Authority [and] 30,000 men or the equivalent of a full army'. However, this plan needed 'the trigger' of a suicide bombing which would cause 'numerous deaths and injuries [because] the "revenge" factor is crucial'. This 'would motivate Israeli soldiers to demolish the Palestinians'.