Israeli FM: Peace process freeze may lead to violence against Israel

The stalled peace process is liable to push the Palestinians in the West Bank to turn increasingly violent toward Israel, according to the Israeli Foreign Ministry's annual intelligence assessment presented to the ministers in the security cabinet. The assessment also states that a potential Israeli military operation in Gaza would generate a severe response from Egypt. "On the ground, at this point, neither the Palestinian leadership nor public opinion seems to want a violent escalation with Israel," the report stated, according to the Israeli daily (Haaretz). "Still, the continuing freeze of the diplomatic process, combined with any drastic Israeli moves in the military and/or economic realm and the continuing stormy situation in the Middle East, could bring about a change in this approach," according to the ministry's intelligence report.