To the PA, Atila said, “changes in the Middle East have placed us before fateful decisions for both nations. I see you as partners to preserving stable security. We must work together toward this objective.”
To the settlers he said that he was certain that the Civil Administration would work to develop the area based on instructions from the upper echelon.
“You have a responsibility to preserve stability and public order,” he said.
A relationship with both the Palestinians and the settlers is critical for the Civil Administration head, given that his office oversees Israel and Palestinian civilian life in Area C of the West Bank.
Atila replaces Maj.-Gen. Ghassan Alian, who held the post for close to two years, and during which time the PA temporarily halted security coordination with Israel and the COVID-19 pandemic broke out.
Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories Maj.-Gen. Kamil Abu Rukun said that the person who heads the Civil Administration holds one of the “most sensitive, variegated and challenging” roles “that a commander will be called upon to fill, certainly in the current reality, a time of successive crises, in which challenge follows fast on the heels of challenge.”
He listed the challenges of the past year. “We have dealt with, among other things, a crisis in the relationship with the Palestinian Authority that has led to its severance of civilian and security coordination with us.
“The crisis has forced us to ponder the issue with great care, formulate creative solutions, and develop new work strategies,” he said.
Atila said that when he looks toward the coming years he believes the region stands at a “critical, and possibly even historical, crossroad.”
Global changes, Atila said, “may constitute a regional opportunity for shaping and stabilizing the area. At this sensitive time, all of us – you and me, commanders and civilians as one – are called upon to act.”
He added: “Together we will continue to make a contribution and succeed in our important mission – the improvement of the quality of life for all of the region’s populations and preservation of its security stability.”