Israeli soldiers stopped a speeding car north of Ramallah Tuesday, and it turned out to be a vehicle driving Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Razi Hamdallah, who immediately turned the incident into a nasty political fight.
He reportedly called one soldier a “dog” and scorned him for standing in “occupied territory.”
His car and convoy had been stopped for crossing the solid white line and for other violations resulting from reckless driving on Highway 60, the major artery connecting Jerusalem, Ofra , Beit El and other northern Jewish communities. It also bypasses Ramallah, which is connected with Highway by an “Arab only” road.
The IDF called the police to handle the situation, and then it was realized that the car was part of an official PA convoy, which usually travels with an Israeli police escort. The convoy and the IDF eventually parted company after a stalemate following Hamdallah’s demand for an apology and the IDF’s refusal.
The way the Bethlehem-based Ma’an News Agency reported the incident, “a group of settlers escorted by Israeli soldiers” stopped Hamdallah’s car and convoy, and Hamdallah alleged that the soldiers planned to assault him,
How he knew their plans is not known, but if the Palestinian Authority is smart, it will see the arrest as a divine sign that Mahmoud Abbas indeed is speeding too fast, politically, for his own good.