JERUSALEM
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday accused Iran of doubling efforts for "terrorist" attacks in the West Bank.
"In recent weeks, we have seen accelerated efforts by Iran to intensify terrorist attacks in Judea and Samaria," Netanyahu said during a cabinet meeting, using the Jewish name of the West Bank.
"The Palestinian Authority ambassador in Teheran said that he was enthused by Iranian ruler Khamenei's instructions to send weapons to the West Bank," he claimed.
U.S.-sponsored peace talks between the Palestinians and Israel collapsed earlier this year after the self-proclaimed Jewish state failed to free a fourth batch of Palestinian prisoners under an earlier agreement with the Palestinian Authority.
Tension has run high in recent months in the Palestinian territories and Israel due to repeated Israeli "violations" of East Jerusalem's flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
The Israeli authorities briefly closed the mosque compound in late October following the shooting of an extremist rabbi in West Jerusalem.
Tension in the region has mounted since Israel carried out a devastating military offensive on the Gaza Strip in July and August that left more than 2,160 Palestinians dead and some 11,000injured.
In retaliation, several Israelis have been killed in recent Palestinian attacks in the West Bank and Israel.
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